Eagles Rumors: LaRon Landry Worth a Gamble for Philly

Despite all the talent they brought in last offseason, playing defense proved to be a problem for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2011. 

For the most part, Philly's defensive struggles in 2011 were pinned on the linebacking corps, which was one of the weakest in the league. But the Eagles had problems with their safeties too, and that's a group that could use a boost just as much as the linebacking corps.

How about LaRon Landry? He's available, and the word around the campfire is that the Eagles are interested.

According to Pro Football Talk, the Eagles are one of several teams interested in making a play for Landry, with the others being the New York Jets, Detroit Lions and New England Patriots.

Evidently, all four of these teams are impressed by the ridiculous photo Landry posted to Twitter in February:

Biceps, dude. Biceps.

It could be the biceps, but in truth, the Eagles and the other potential Landry suitors are probably interested in him because he's a physical presence (look at him!) who can help out at all levels of the defense. If the Eagles want a guy who can play close to the line of scrimmage, Landry can do that. If they want a guy who can make plays down the field, Landry can do that.

At least, Landry can do these things when he's healthy, and that's the great unknown. He's battled injuries over the last two seasons, and he recently had an exchange with a fan on Twitter in which he hinted that he hurt his Achilles because he "shot it up" (The Washington Post has the full exchange).

This would be one of those things that makes you go "Hmmm...."

Even still, Landry's recent woes presumably mean he can be had at a much cheaper price than a team would have had to pay two years ago. He's not so much a star as he is an injury-prone player with star potential.

Per EaglesCap.com, the Eagles don't have a whole lot of money to spend, which is unfortunate given the upgrades their defense needs. But Landry is one of very few guys the Eagles can afford, and there aren't many defensive free agents out there who have high-reward potential quite like Landry.

So what the heck. This is a signing the Eagles can make, and it's a signing the Eagles should make. This a chance to get a lot of bang for their buck, and their defense will be significantly improved if they sign Landry and he stays healthy.

They would just have to hope that Landry wouldn't Hulk out too much.

[Enter "don't make him angry" joke here].