Having to backfill several departures, the Philadelphia Eagles agreed to terms with a pair of veteran defensive players on one-year deals. Linebacker Nicholas Morrow played last season with the Chicago Bears and started 17 games. He’ll turn 28 this summer. Safety Justin Evans started four of the 15 games he played for the New Orleans Saints in 2022. He turns 28 in August. Our Eagles writers grade the additions.
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Berman: At this point in free agency, Howie Roseman seeks solid enough players at positions of need so he doesn’t go into the draft with a major hole on the depth chart. It worked last season with Kyzir White. At the same time, it didn’t work with the Anthony Harris signing. That’s the nature of the dart-throwing, although there’s more investment in some than others. The Eagles can hope that Morrow turns out like White. He brings starting experience (46 starts in his career, including all 17 last season) and speed (4.52 seconds at his pro day in 2017) to the middle of the field. One of his better games last season came against the Eagles, when he had 11 tackles (and one for a loss). This is his second consecutive one-year deal and it’s coming off his most playing time and production. He was a late bloomer from a small school who blossomed with the Raiders. Maybe on a defense with talent in front of him and the potential emergence of Nakobe Dean next to him, he can prove to be a strong addition. Expectations should be kept in check, and Philadelphia has a dubious history of signing linebackers. Meanwhile, the Bears clearly sought to upgrade from Morrow (with a former Eagles linebacker). Still, this might be a dart throw that pays off.
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The Evans signing was a dart throw from an even longer range. He’s a pedigreed player (2017 second-round pick) who missed three seasons before returning to the Saints in 2022. My understanding is the Eagles are not finished at safety, and Evans profiles more as a depth signing who can contribute on special teams. This isn’t a C.J. Gardner-Johnson or Marcus Epps replacement. But he showed last year he can come back from injury, and now the Eagles could be the beneficiaries with more time removed from his prolonged absence.
Grade (on a scale of ice cream flavors): Rum raisin. There are better options in this case and you’re not going to the ice cream shop expressly for rum raisin. But if the top flavors are sold out and this is what’s left, it could hit the spot and be just as good as what you wanted. But you also need to be prepared for the possibility of being disappointed.
Wulf: When you’re allocating resources, you have to shortchange something. Morrow was among the more capable linebackers still unsigned and will be penciled in to start alongside Dean, but there are no guarantees that will come to fruition. We all remember the Eric Wilson and Corey Nelson experiences. As Zach wrote, the Bears’ eagerness to replace Morrow is probably instructive, but he has more proven ability to start at linebacker in the NFL than anyone else on the roster. A foot injury kept him out of the 2021 season entirely, but Morrow has otherwise been durable, with just two games missed in his five other seasons. Body-wise, Morrow is listed at 6 feet, 225 pounds, so he’s not exactly the thumper complement to Dean one might expect. But relative to the other options available, he makes as much sense for a lottery ticket as anyone. One of these days, the Eagles will hit the linebacker jackpot, right?
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As for Evans, I think the apt recent comparison is probably Andrew Adams, who joined the Eagles after winning a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers, moonlighted with the starters for a spell during training camp, and ultimately was released during final roster cutdowns. Evans is on the roster to ward off the Eagles from reaching for a player in the draft, and he won’t be assured of being on the roster. But those are players worth rooting for and storylines worth following. I still expect the team to add another veteran safety.
Grade (on a scale of ice cream flavors): Zach initially suggested water ice flavors to celebrate the beginning of spring, then pitched NCAA Tournament teams, but I’m pretty sure we’ve done that before. I’ll say the Morrow signing is low-fat mango, or something like that. It’s not really what you want from ice cream, but you’re trying to be conscious of the larger picture. The Evans addition is frozen mint chocolate chip that’s been sitting in the bottom of your freezer for way longer than you care to admit. It’s not what you want, but in lieu of any other options, it’ll have to do.
(Photo of Nicholas Morrow: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)