Eagles Bolster Secondary By Signing CB Riq Woolen

The Eagles had been fairly quiet over the first 24 hours in free agency. They saw staples of their defense last year like Reed Blankenship, Nakobe Dean, and Jaelan Phillips walk out the door. But roughly 30 hours into the Legal Tampering window, they made their first move, signing Super Bowl Champion CB Riq Woolen to a 1-year deal worth up to $15 million.

It is a big splash move from a team most expected to be quiet. Woolen has led the league since he entered the league with 41 pass breakups, and is 4th in that time with 12 interceptions.

Woolen is a freakish athlete. He made a name for himself back at the 2022 NFL Combine with a blazing 4.26 40 time. He also stands at 6ft4, giving him a rare gift of size and speed. Despite that, he fell to pick 151 in the draft. Still, he won a starting job out of camp, made the Pro Bowl his rookie year, and finished 3rd in the voting for Defensive Rookie Of The Year.

Woolen did have some problems with consistency in his 4 years with the Seahawks, though. He even lost his job to former Eagles Josh Jobe at one point this past season. But he bounced back and was as good as nearly any corner in the second half, holding opposing QBs to a Passer rating of just 57.2 in the final 12 games. And he and Mitchell were led the league with just 0.5 yards per coverage snap.

He finished the year as the 3rd Corner for the Eagles, but that is the role he will fill with the Eagles two. The Eagles' defensive backfield already features two All-Pros in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. It sets up Woolen for a very manageable role.

The Eagles got by with Adoree Jackson and Kelee Ringo at CB3 last season. Now they add a former Pro Bowler fresh off the Super Bowl.

Next up for them, they need to sure up the Edge Rusher room. They also need to figure out who will play Safety opposite Drew Mukuba.