Ndamukong Suh, Eagles Agree to 1-Year Contract After Linval Joseph Deal
November 17, 2022
The Philadelphia Eagles announced that they've agreed to a one-year deal with free-agent defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh on Thursday.
ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported the deal was done.
Suh appeared to confirm the deal in a post on his Twitter account after Schefter's report:
Fox Sports' Jay Glazer first reported the two sides had discussed a contract.
The Eagles addressed their defensive line Wednesday by signing Linval Joseph, but they clearly weren't done.
Suh, who had yet to sign with a team this season, had 27 tackles, six sacks and 13 quarterback hits in 17 games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021.
Philadelphia suffered its first defeat in Week 10, a 32-21 loss to the Washington Commanders that exposed one of its biggest weaknesses. Washington ran for 152 yards and two touchdowns on 49 carries.
The Eagles are allowing 112.3 rushing yards per game and 4.7 yards per carry, and they've been particularly vulnerable through the middle. According to Football Outsiders, they're 32nd in power success rate (86 percent) and 28th in stuffed rate (14 percent). The former measures how often opposing teams are successful on third and fourth downs with two or fewer yards to gain, and the latter calculates how often a defense stops a running back at or behind the line of scrimmage.
Add the two together and you have a defense that's terrible in short-yardage situations. The line sorely needs 2022 first-round pick Jordan Davis, who had been living up to expectations as a rookie before suffering an ankle injury in Week 8 that landed him on injured reserve.
At 35, Suh is clearly no longer the disruptive force who was named an All-Pro three times in his first five years. He remained effective in a more limited role with Tampa Bay, though.
With the trade deadline having already passed, signing Suh is the Eagles' most straightforward remedy to improve their defense. It isn't guaranteed to work out, but there might not have been better options available.