Eagles CB Kelee Ringo Still Unsigned, But Sponging Off Darius Slay, James Bradberry
One of these days, the Philadelphia Eagles will sign their fourth-round draft pick.
Kelee Ringo is the last piece to the seven-man draft class to remain unsigned. It’ll happen at some point.
Until it does, the cornerback who will turn just 21 on June 27, continues to learn from two of the best in the business – Darius Slay and James Bradberry. The veteran duo has 17 years of experience combined coming into this season with 44 career interceptions between them.
That’s a lot of knowledge to impart to a kid like Ringo, who said that he wants to be a sponge and soak up whatever they have learned through their time in the league. It’s a lot, but he’s ready for it.
“It’s really valuable,” said defensive backs coach D.K. McDonald. “It is out on the field but especially in the meeting room. He gets to sit beside Bradberry and Slay, ask them questions, pick their brain, on some of the successes they had, and those two have had a lot of successes in this league.
"They have well-earned reputations. He gets to ask those questions, the warts they have, the scars they have, so that’s been really good. But then to watch how they work on the field. That’s the most impressive thing about those guys is not the accolades they’ve had."
Just like the day will come when he is signed, Ringo’s day will also come when he climbs the depth chart.
At last week’s OTA, it was second-year undrafted free agent cornerback Josh Jobe who got most of the second-team reps behind Slay and Bradberry, working both sides of the field.
Ringo is too good to keep down too long, at least he was at the University of Georgia.
His 79-yard interception return for a touchdown sealed the first of two Bulldogs national championships. It came against Alabama quarterback and Carolina Panthers rookie Bryce Young, who was the No. 1 overall pick in this past year’s draft.
“Definitely a huge part of my career," Ringo said of the pick-six. “I told myself I didn’t want that to be one of the specific things that made me who I am. Just continue to build on things like that.
"But I would definitely say that being one of the guys on that elite defense and being able to contribute is what I try to pride myself on, to be able to contribute the best way I can for the team, and I was able to do that in that moment, so it was a pretty good feeling.”
It’s that kind of big-play-making ability that has the Eagles excited for a player they traded up in the fourth round to select.
It’s the kind of play that excites teammates, the way it did the Eagles' first-round pick this year, Nolan Smith, who was on the field that day when Ringo made that play.
“Man, I can relive that moment all day,” he said. “I remember me coming off a pass-rush move. I thought I could’ve dipped more, and all I’d seen was Kelee going (up). And I said, ‘Lord, let him come down with this ball.’ And he came down with it, and then I realized, he ain’t going down. I said, ‘Oh yeah, it’s time to ride.’”
Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.
Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.
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