Philadelphia Eagles sign Zach Brown: Grade, reaction and more
The Philadelphia Eagles continue to add some pieces to their front seven, adding veteran inside linebacker Zach Brown to the roster.
One year after the organization captured its initial Super Bowl title and the franchise’s first NFL championship since 1960, the Philadelphia Eagles struggled most of the season with consistency in 2018. Doug Pederson’s team went from 13 wins to nine victories, but the Birds still managed their way into the playoffs. A 16-15 win over the Chicago Bears in the wild card round was followed by a 14-0 first-quarter lead one week later at the Superdome. But the New Orleans Saints would send the defending champions home by day’s end.
In any case, it’s a new year and general manager Howie Roseman has enjoyed another solid and productive offseason. The team has made its share of moves, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. And the club continued to add pieces to coordinator Jim Schwartz’s unit was the addition of veteran linebacker Zach Brown.
Contract details
Via Spotrac, Brown inked a one-year, $3 million deal with the Eagles on Friday.
National reaction
Re: Eagles' LB corps -- Don't believe they're looking for (or need) every-down options. Similar to a platoon in the baseball. They needed someone who can play base run downs. That's my guess for where Zach Brown fits. They'll use multiple packages in back 7 throughout the game.
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) May 3, 2019
My main thought on Zach Brown:
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) May 3, 2019
If the Eagles are going to play Brown and Bradham together (which they want to do for sure), it’d be nice to see Bradham return to his 2017 self in pass coverage. He took a step back there in 2018.
Zach Brown could make @ChrisWesseling an Eagles believer yet. Pretty rare to pick up a likely starter on May 3.
— Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal) May 3, 2019
https://twitter.com/zbryce21/status/1124350809641242624
Grade
Brown has made his share of stops around the league and has always been a productive player. He spent the previous two seasons with the Washington Redskins, leading the team with 127 tackles in 2017 and finishing second on the club with 96 stops this past year. Brown, cut loose this offseason by Jay Gruden’s club, is a solid pickup this late in free agency and his recent familiarity with the NFC East is a plus as well. Via Pro Football Focus (subscription required), he is the service’s third-ranked inside linebacker behind only Seattle’s Bobby Wagner and Carolina’s Luke Kuechly.
Grade: A
The Philadelphia defense was simply not the same unit it was during its Super Bowl LII campaign and Roseman has made his share of moves this offseason to return this group back to standout form. It’s somewhat stunning that Brown remained on the open market this long. But the Birds have to be ecstatic with this latest addition.