Eagles could poach former Cowboys in free agency to keep twisting knife

When the 2023 regular season began, the Philadelphia Eagles exploded out of the gate. Despite inconsistencies and flaws, the Eagles deposed their opponents with relative ease. Then, all of a sudden, everything went off the rails. An NFC Championship rematch against the San Francisco 49ers resulted in an embarrassing loss, and Philadelphia never recovered and ultimately lost the NFC East to the Dallas Cowboys.

After failing to make it back to the Super Bowl, the Eagles spent the offseason reconstructing their roster. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has invested into his current players, mortgaging the franchise's future by offsetting contracts with void years to lessen the short-term financial hit. Philadelphia has bolstered their defense and extended key offensive players. Despite the monster contracts, the Eagles still have roughly $27.2 million in salary cap space.

The Eagles patched up their leaky pass defense with several cornerback acquisitions in free agency and the 2024 NFL Draft. Heading into training camp, the Eagles have 14 cornerbacks on their roster. The group is led by veterans Darius Slay and James Bradberry, second-year cornerback Kelee Ringo, and rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean.

The Eagles don't have the same depth at safety, however.

Eagles could bolster secondary by signing a former Cowboys safety

Fan Nation's Patrick McAvoy suggests the Eagles should consider signing former Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse.

The move would provide the Eagles with depth at safety while pouring salt in the wound for the Cowboys, who have sat idly by as all of their key free agents have signed with other teams this offseason.

Philadelphia signed ball hawk C.J. Gardner-Johnson after their season apart went awry, but there are concerns about Gardner-Johnson's durability. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's "Big Nickel" defensive personnel typically deploys three safeties on the field, and a weak linebacker room could force Philadelphia to rely on the three-safety package more frequently.

The heated rivalry between the Eagles and Cowboys is one of the best in football, especially since no team has repeated as division champion in the NFC East since 2004. Still, Kearse's best performances may be behind him. Since recording 101 combined tackles in 2021, the 30-year-old's performance has slowly dipped. Kearse recorded one interception, 1 ½ sacks, and 72 total tackles in 13 starts with the Cowboys last season.

Dallas has Malik Hooker, Donovan Wilson, and Markquese Bell at safety, so the loss of Kearse wouldn't really sting much anyway.

If Philadelphia really wants to leap out for a safety, four-time All-Pro Justin Simmons may be the best option. Simmons has been one of the best safeties in the league throughout his career, and he enjoyed success in Fangio's defense while the pair were together with the Denver Broncos. As the Eagles try to repair their No. 31 ranked pass defense, Simmons would be the obvious — albeit expensive — answer.