Eagles Strengthen Depth of Defense With 2 More Moves
The first day of free agency saw the Eagles lose several key pieces of their defense. The next day, they added Riq Woolen as their CB2 to make. On Thursday,…
The first day of free agency saw the Eagles lose several key pieces of their defense. The next day, they added Riq Woolen as their CB2 to make. On Thursday, the first official day of free agency, they made two more moves. And while they are not big splash moves, both add some much-needed depth in areas of need.
The Eagles signed former Falcons Edge Rusher Arnold Ebiketie and former Patriots and Commanders Corner Jonathan Jones to 1-year deals.
Arnold Ebiketie
The Falcons drafted Arnold Ebiketie in the 2nd round of the 2022 draft out of Penn State. At the time, the Eagles were linked to him in the draft. Now they get him 4 years later on a 1-year deal worth up to $7.3 million, with $4.3 million guarenteed.
Ebiketie had 16.5 sacks in 4 seasons with the Falcons. He had 6 in both the 2023 and 2024 seasons, but lost playing time last season with an influx of young pass rushers on the Falcons. But despite only having 2 sacks, he did generate 25 pressures and finished 2nd on the Falcons with a Pass Rush Win Rate of 16.8%. That number is good for 21st in the NFL among all Edge Rushers.
The Eagles needed depth at Edge. They lost Jaelan Phillips. Ebiketie is not Phillips, and likely will be mostly used as a situational Pass Rusher, same as he was used in Atlanta. Eagles still need help at the position, but Ebiketie at least gives them depth behind Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt.
One note, Vic Fangio has not always seemed willing to use situational pass rushers. We saw both Bryce Huff and Azeez Ojulari struggle to get playing time. Ebiketie may need to prove he can get it done in the run game as well if he wants to have a role on the defense next year. Fangio won't use a player just because the team invested in them, or because they can get after the QB.
Jonathan Jones
Jones went undrafted in the 2016 draft before signing as a UDFA with the Patriots. He has turned that UDFA contract into a 10-year career. Jones started 78 games for the Patriots over 9 years, with 11 picks and 57 pass deflections. The Patriots won 2 Super Bowls with Jones on the roster. He started for them in their Super Bowl win over the Rams when they held the Rams to just 3 points.
Last season, he signed with the Commanders, started 7 games, and had 5 pass breakups.
He joins a now crowded CB room, led by Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper Dejean, and new addition Riq Woolen. Meaning, barring injury, Jones won't start here. But he gives them depth at slot corner. New Eagles Secondary Coach Mike Pellegrino was the Patriots' Cornerbacks coach for 6 years from 2019-2024, so he is obviously very familiar with Jones.
The fact that they brought in another slot cornerback is interesting. Michael Carter II served as their backup slot corner at the end of last season. But there have been talks of moving him to Safety. Signing Jones might make way for that to happen.
The Eagles are no strangers to converting slot corners into Safeties; they did the same thing with CJ Gardner-Johnson once. Now with Jones behind DeJean, they can afford to put Carter at Safety if they want, which is a position in dire need of not just depth, but another starter with Reed Blankenship leaving in free agency.
Something to keep an eye on.
