Three offseason moves the Eagles should explore
Safety Justin Simmons.
The Philadelphia Eagles handed new contracts to 12 of their own players while adding 14 free agents and nine draft picks in the offseason. The Eagles have been busy, but these moves could make them even better.
Add another linebacker
Philly fans were thrilled to get Jeremiah Trotter Jr., the son of Eagles legend Jeremiah Trotter, on the team. But the fifth-round pick could see the field sparingly next season. Former Buccaneer Devin White should start immediately but played so poorly he was benched by Tampa Bay in 2023.
Factor in the disappointing start to Nakobe Dean’s NFL career and it’s hard to believe the Eagles are satisfied with their current group of linebackers. One option could be former Falcon Bud Dupree. The nine-year veteran spent time with the Steelers and Titans before joining the Falcons where he tied Calais Campbell for the team lead with 6.5 sacks last season.
Another option could be Baltimore’s Tyus Bowser. The 28-year-old free agent had seven sacks and a pair of forced fumbles in 2021 but missed all of 2023 recovering from a torn Achilles suffered at the end of the 2022 season. If healthy, the 6-foot-3 250-pound linebacker would bring much needed size to Philadelphia’s linebacker group.
Sign S Justin Simmons
Imagine dropping Simmons into a secondary with six-time Pro Bowler Darius Slay, first-round pick Quinyon Mitchell and fellow safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Not only did Simmons and Johnson tie two other players with a league-high six interceptions in 2022, each did it in only 12 games.
Simmons had 30 interceptions in eight years with Denver, fourteen of them under head coach Vic Fangio, who is now the Eagles defensive coordinator. With a market value of $11.2M, signing Simmons could be tough, but reuniting him with Fangio could pay dividends for a team in “win-now” mode.
Sign S Quandre Diggs
If the team can’t land Simmons, Diggs could do just as well. The nine-year veteran spent five years with the Lions before joining the Seahawks midway through the 2019 season.
Diggs made three straight Pro Bowls with Seattle and had 18 interceptions in five years with the team. He also started his NFL career at cornerback, which would give Philadelphia much-needed flexibility in 2024.
At 31 years old, he’s just one year older than Simmons but would be a substantial upgrade over 25-year-old Reed Blankenship, who joined the team as an undrafted free agent in 2022.
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