10 Perfect Free-Agent Fits for Philadelphia Eagles

It will certainly be an interesting offseason for the Philadelphia Eagles. It seems as if full power has been handed over to Chip Kelly, although that may not necessarily be the case.

Kelly will need to upgrade several key aspects of this team, most notably the secondary. He will have decisions to make regarding the quarterback position, an $11.9 million cap hit for the Pro Bowl running back and several veterans who are slated to earn high cap figures.

The free-agent market may be his best opportunity to upgrade some areas, and the following 10 players would be ideal fits for this organization based on age, skill level and projected contract.

You won’t find Jeremy Maclin on here (even though he’s a free agent) since the team will likely re-sign him soon, and this is a list of players around the league. And in keeping with recent Eagles’ tradition, these players are of mainly mid-level talent, like Malcolm Jenkins and Cary Williams in recent years.

QB Jake Locker

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Chip Kelly is a master at getting the most out of his quarterbacks. Even with Mark Sanchez last year, he coaxed single-season bests out of the New York Jets castoff in completion percentage (64.1), yards per attempt (7.8) and passer rating (88.4).

Jake Locker never lived up to his potential in Tennessee. Blame it on the injuries, a shuffling of head coaches, a dearth of supporting offensive talent or his poor accuracy as a passer, but he was a disappointment as a top-10 overall pick.

Locker won’t be re-signed by the Titans, and the open market won’t be clamoring for a quarterback with a 9-14 career record, 57.5 completion percentage and 27 touchdown passes to 22 interceptions. But Kelly should be interested. Assuming Sanchez doesn’t come back—as he would likely want to try to compete for a starting job somewhere—Locker is the best free-agent quarterback available for the Kelly offense.

He’s athletic enough to run the read-option offense. He holds the third-highest career rushing average (6.78) among players with at least 95 rushing attempts. And Philly can probably sign him for a cheap two-year deal at $2-3 million per year with incentives.

CB Byron Maxwell

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Richard Sherman’s cornerback mate, Byron Maxwell, would be a fine addition to the Philadelphia Eagles’ secondary. He’s 26 years old and one of the better cover corners in the game. Per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), last year Maxwell was one of just 11 cornerbacks in the game to play at least 700 snaps and allow no more than one touchdown pass.

Maxwell won’t be cheap; a cornerback of his age and skill level will probably command at least a four-year deal at $30 million total. That’s a lot to pay for any one position, but cornerback remains a dire need for this team, especially if Cary Williams becomes an offseason release.

S Devin McCourty

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The Philadelphia Eagles don’t typically pay top dollar for one position, especially with the sour taste of the 2011 Nnamdi Asomugha signing still in their mouths. Nevertheless, Devin McCourty is an All-Pro talent and may be the most coveted player in the free-agent market.

He’s a hybrid corner/safety; he was drafted as a corner but moved to safety, where he’s thrived for the last two years. McCourty is just 27 years old. He’s played 77 of a possible 80 games, recording 17 interceptions and seven forced fumbles along the way. He’s a ball hawk that the Eagles haven’t had at safety since Brian Dawkins.

The Eagles have made half-hearted attempts with so many safeties, whether it be draft picks (Earl Wolff, Macho Harris) or free-agent signings (Kenny Phillips, Marlin Jackson, to name a few). The one time they had a really good safety—Quintin Mikell—they let him walk.

Sometimes you have to pay for top talent, and that’s what the Eagles would be doing with McCourty. They passed on Jairus Byrd last offseason, and it turned out to be a sigh of relief when Byrd’s recurring foot injuries landed him on season-ending injured reserve. But the combination of Nate Allen and Malcolm Jenkins won’t scare opposing quarterbacks at all. McCourty will.

CB Darrelle Revis

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Technically, Darrelle Revis isn’t a free agent right now. He’s signed by the New England Patriots but to a ridiculous $25 million cap hit for 2015, one that will almost assuredly be restructured, as no team can possibly pay that much money for one player.

If Revis restructures his deal and signs on with the Patriots long term, good for him. But if he wants to test the market again—as he did after 2012 with the New York Jets and 2013 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—Revis will command mega money.

Per Spotrac.com, there are six active cornerbacks with a $50 million contract. Patrick Peterson leads that group at $70 million, with Joe Haden close behind at $67 million. Revis could easily command what Peterson got, although he seems content on being an independent contractor and testing the market on a year-to-year basis.

Maybe the Eagles will have to give Revis $30 million over two years, but having him in their secondary would make all the difference. The Eagles went 10-6 this year; with Revis, they would have likely won against Arizona, San Francisco and the rematch with Dallas. Just like that, Philly would be 13-3 and arguably the top talent in the NFC. That’s why Revis should be so coveted.

ILB Jamari Lattimore

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Jamari Lattimore would be a classic Philadelphia Eagles signing. He’s an under-the-radar player who won’t make any headlines if he joins the team, but he’s a good depth piece who could push for a starting job next to Mychal Kendricks if DeMeco Ryans is released.

Lattimore had his moments with the Green Bay Packers, especially in the 2013 season when he recorded 19 tackles, two sacks, two stuffs and a pass defensed in a three-game span. He only started four games that season, but the Packers went 4-0 in those contests.

Lattimore is 26 years old and won’t be particularly expensive. The Eagles could sign him and allow him to compete with in-house options like Casey Matthews (if he’s re-signed), Travis Long, Emmanuel Acho and Najee Goode for a starting spot next to Kendricks.

CB Kareem Jackson

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Kareem Jackson would be a logical choice to fill the Philadelphia Eagles’ cornerback woes. He’s a former first-round pick of the Houston Texans who's had a pretty good career in his five NFL seasons.

In 2014, Jackson was Pro Football Focus’s 11th-rated cornerback out of over 100 qualifiers. He recorded three interceptions and allowed just a 74.1 passer rating.

Say the Eagles sign Jackson to a four-year deal at $8 million per season. They could draft a cornerback in one of the top two rounds and allow him to battle it out with Brandon Boykin for the other starting spot; that is, assuming Cary Williams is released and Bradley Fletcher isn’t re-signed.

ILB Sean Weatherspoon

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The Atlanta Falcons spent a 2010 first-round pick on Sean Weatherspoon, but he’s now missed 25 of the last 32 games due to injury. He was a defensive captain and Pro Bowl talent until injuries took their toll.

Weatherspoon is still just 27 years old. He was a 4-3 outside linebacker who could play as a 3-4 inside linebacker, and the Philadelphia Eagles may be able to get him at a bargain price considering his recent health status. It would be ironic if the team released one player coming off a torn Achilles tendon (DeMeco Ryans) to sign another, but Weatherspoon doesn’t have Ryans’ near-$7 million cap hit or age (31).

S Da’Norris Searcy

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Da’Norris Searcy was one of the more underrated players in the NFL in 2014, thriving on a Buffalo Bills defense that finished second-best in the league in passer rating allowed (74.46), per Cold Hard Football Facts.

The Bills allowed Jairus Byrd to walk last offseason, instead choosing to pay his in-house replacement Aaron Williams to the tune of four years, $26 million. It would be a shame for Buffalo to let another talented safety in Searcy walk, but 2013 fourth-round pick Duke Williams filled in well down the stretch this past year.

Maybe the Bills will let Searcy walk, and if so, he’s a solid option for the Philadelphia Eagles. Searcy has said he wants to test the open market, and his versatility as a hybrid linebacker/safety will definitely attract Chip Kelly. For what it’s worth, Searcy was tremendous in pass coverage in 2014, allowing a 21.5 passer rating that rated fourth-best, per Pro Football Focus, among 88 qualifying safeties.

CB Antonio Cromartie

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Antonio Cromartie is the prototypical Philadelphia Eagles’ corner in that he’s long and tall. Checking in at 6’3”, he would match up well with a top talent like Dez Bryant.

Cromartie has been to three Pro Bowls. He’s missed just one game due to injury in nine NFL seasons, and he’s recorded multiple interceptions in every year of his career.

Cromartie is 30 years old (set to turn 31 in April), which means the Eagles wouldn’t have to break the bank to get him. He’s on just a one-year, 3.5 million deal with the Arizona Cardinals and will easily command more than that after a quality season.

His age will deter teams from offering him much more than a two- or three-year deal, but the Eagles may be able to sign Cromartie for what they offered Cary Williams two offseasons ago—three years, $17 million.

S Rahim Moore

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The Denver Broncos will have to pay Demaryius Thomas and possibly Julius Thomas this offseason, so there may not be available cap space for the team to re-sign Rahim Moore.

But Moore will certainly gather some interest in the open free-agent market. He’s still just 24 years old, which means he should command at least a five-year deal. Moore had perhaps his finest season in 2014, starting all 16 games and recording a career-high four interceptions.

The Philadelphia Eagles haven’t had a young, ball-hawking safety since Brian Dawkins. Signing Moore would allow the team to draft a low-round player (or bring back Earl Wolff) as depth, but the duo of Moore and Malcolm Jenkins would grade out as one of the better pairs in the league.