Ronnie Brown to Philadelphia Eagles: Why It Was a Smart Move

The Philadelphia Eagles are continuing their dominance of headlines and transaction wires in the NFL free-agency period.

It was announced Tuesday afternoon that the Eagles had agreed to terms with veteran free-agent running back Ronnie Brown.

For a team that is clearly in win-now mode like the Eagles, Brown is the perfect signing.

When healthy, he is among the league's most prolific running backs. In five out of his first six seasons, Brown averaged over four yards per carry, and he has averaged six touchdowns per season.

Those numbers are even more impressive when you consider how heavily Brown was splitting carries with Ricky Williams and a host of others in Miami.

I qualify those statistics with the phrase "when healthy" because health has always been an issue for Brown, although he is a healthier player than many perceive. He has really only missed large chunks of two seasons in the NFL. In 2007, he missed nine games due to injury, and in 2009, he missed seven games.

Other than those two seasons, he has only missed single games here and there just like every other running back in league.

I don't think Brown is as much injury prone as he is simply unlucky with injuries.

Brown famously excelled while sharing carries with Ricky Williams, Patrick Cobbs, and others as part of a Dolphins offense that features more than its share of plays out of the Wildcat formation.

That bodes well for his time in Philadelphia as he will be splitting carries with dynamic running back LeSean McCoy and Philly also runs their share of plays similar to those in the Wildcat to maximize their usage of Michael Vick.

Speaking of McCoy, he should be as thankful as anyone that Brown will be coming in.

On the surface, it would seem that he should be upset at the loss of carries, but having a talented runner like Brown sharing time with him in the backfield will only extend McCoy's career in the long term and make him more effective in the short term.

The money involved in the deal hasn't been disclosed yet, but I can't imagine it would be any amount that will break the bank. Philadelphia simply wouldn't have the cap room to sign him if it were.

And at a decent price, Brown is a steal.

He's highly effective, unselfish, and a great change of pace from the smaller, shiftier McCoy.

Add those factors up, and it's easy to see why the Eagles just took another step toward that Super Bowl ring they are working overtime to get.