It has not necessarily been a quiet offseason for the Philadelphia Eagles, but General Manager Howie Roseman has conservatively picked his spots to make roster changes. The biggest splash of a move included only draft picks, and the big player signings did not come in a flurry, but in a slow trickle. It’s hard to find much fault in the moves the Eagles have made to this point, but there are still plenty of additions needed before this team is ready to trot onto Lincoln Financial Field for the 2022 NFL Season. One of those spots is undoubtedly the safety position. Over the past few days, some rumors have begun to swirl on social media surrounding Tyrann Mathieu, and when you look at the situation, the birds have no excuse to not go out and sign the honey badger this offseason.
First of all, let’s take a look at how the safety position currently looks on the Eagles’ roster. The four players currently on the team at the safety position are Anthony Harris, who was re-signed this offseason after his first year in Philly, Marcus Epps, K’Von Wallace, and Jared Mayden. Epps has some starting experience in the NFL, but has not demonstrated the ability you would like to see from a starting safety at this level. K’Von Wallace, heading into his 3rd year in the league, is yet to break into significant playing time at the position after being drafted in the 4th round out of Clemson. Jared Mayden is a formerly undrafted player that has 7 career tackles to his name. There is plenty of room to improve at that position, especially considering that long time Eagle Rodney McLeod is heading to Indianapolis via free agency. This is a unit that needs both talent and leadership, and Mathieu seems to be the ideal option to fill both of those needs.
Now, the Eagles could look to add to the safety room in the draft, and they very well still could even if they sign Mathieu. Derek Stingley Jr. is the consensus top player at the position in the 2022 NFL Draft, but most mocks have him coming off the board prior to the Eagles’ first pick at 15. Even if the birds make some kind of move to go get him, or he falls to one of their selections, he’ll still be a young rookie taking his first snaps in the league. That is no knock on Stingley, it’s just a reality of his situation. Meanwhile, Tyrann Mathieu has logged 9 years in the NFL, being named a First Team All-Pro player in 3 of those seasons. He’s a vocal leader, a talented player, and a ridiculously dynamic game changer who can change the outlook of the Eagles’ defense by himself. Howie Roseman is an expert cap manipulator, and has plenty of room to work with right now anyway, so the money should not be an issue. There are other suitors, as is the usual with a player the caliber of Mathieu, but the birds situation puts them in dire need of a player like the honey badger. With them reportedly being one of the favorites in the Mathieu sweepstakes, the Eagles and Howie have absolutely no excuse for not putting him in midnight green for the upcoming season.
