Eagles Lose Javon Hargrave to Massive Deal with 49ers
Javon Hargrave picked the right time to have his best season.
One of the better interior pass rushers in the NFL, Hargrave agreed to a four-year deal with San Francisco that includes $40 million in guarantees and up to $84M, an average annual value of over $20M.
Hargrave, who turned 30 last month, had a career-best 11 sacks for the No. 2 ranked Eagles defense this past season. He was the top interior rusher on a unit that generated a league-high and franchise-record 70 sacks, the third-highest total in NFL history.
Hargrave also added 16 more quarterback hits this past season, 10 tackles for loss, and two fumble recoveries.
Advances statistics also validated Hargrave's effectiveness with a pass-rush win rate that ranked third in the NFL among DTs.
Hargrave signed a three-year, $39M deal to join the Eagles from Pittsburgh for the 2020 season and outplayed that deal. He was originally a third-round pick by the Steelers in the 2016 draft out of South Carolina State.
In his career, Hargrave has amassed 37.5 sacks, 64 quarterback hits, and 46 tackles for loss.
The 49ers, of course, lost to the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game and hope this signing can close the gap moving into the 2023 campaign.
Third-year pro Milton Williams could be in line for an uptick in playing time with a focus on doing some of the same things Hargrave was asked to do in the Philadelphia defense.
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
