Eagles Sign Super Bowl Champion as First Roster Moves Following Loss.
Following their playoff loss, the Philadelphia Eagles plan to sign a Super Bowl champion as one of their first moves.
The Eagles signed 17 players to futures contracts on Thursday, January 18, including linebacker Terrell Lewis. Lewis is a former 2020 third-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Rams and won a Super Bowl at the end of 2021 season.
From Alabama’s Mark Inabinett:
“Players who sign reserve/future contracts overwhelming opt to stay with the NFL team that had them on the practice squad at the end of the season,” Inabinett writes in his article. “But there are exceptions, and the Philadelphia Eagles signed two of them on Thursday when they added former Alabama linebacker Terrell Lewis and former UAB wide receiver Austin Watkins via reserve/future contracts.”
Terrell Smith spent three seasons as the Rams’ backup linebacker.
As previously stated, Lewis, 25, played with the Rams for three seasons. Lewis recorded 40 tackles, six sacks, and ten quarterback hits across 30 games and seven starts.
However, he was released before the end of the 2022 season. Lewis then joined the Chicago Bears’ practice squad before the end of the season.
He finished the 2023 preseason as part of the Bears’ 53-man roster. However, Chicago was given two players off waivers, prompting them to release Lewis to free up roster space.
“Lewis was on Chicago’s 53-player active roster when the Bears reduced their preseason roster on Aug. 28 to meet the NFL’s regular-season limit,” Inabinett says in an email. “During the preseason, Lewis earned three sacks, two of which forced fumbles. However, the day after the roster cuts, the Bears were given two players off waivers, and Lewis was one of the players released by Chicago to clear roster space for the waiver claims.”
Lewis then joined the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad before being released in the midst of the 2023 season.
The Eagles’ lack of depth at linebacker could lead to a roster spot for Terrell Smith.
While it is far too early to predict what the Eagles’ roster will look like when training camp begins, Lewis has a good chance of making the team due to Philadelphia’s lack of depth at the linebacker position.
Lewis has played outside linebacker before, and the Eagles have four linebackers set to hit free agency: Shaq Leonard, Nicholas Morrow, Zach Cunningham, and Shaun Bradley. Leonard and Morrow are the top two linebackers at middle linebacker, while Cunningham plays the entire season as the starting weakside linebacker.
Philadelphia has recently struggled to fill out the linebacker position, adding street free agents Cunningham and Myles Jack during training camp ahead to the 2023 season.
While Jack retired shortly after, before making a comeback with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cunningham outperformed expectations by starting 10 of his 13 games and recording 85 tackles, the third-highest total on the roster.
If Cunningham leaves, Philadelphia will start first-round choice Nolan Smith at weakside linebacker, with Lewis serving as a backup. Lewis played 48% of the team’s defensive snaps in 2021 and 2022.
Again, the Eagles will make significant moves between now and the start of offseason team activities in May. However, hiring Lewis, an accomplished linebacker with a Super Bowl on his CV, could be a wise decision.
