The Top No. 90 in Eagles History Came in 2000
Our jersey countdown to kickoff continues with the number 90, and that’s how many days remain until the Eagles open the season in Landover, Md., against the Washington Redskins on Sept. 13.
From now until then, SI.com EagleMaven will identify the three best players in Eagles history to wear the corresponding number to the days left before the season opener.
Number 90
Current number 90:
Bruce Hector. Since entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2018, and tied for the fourth-most sacks (18) in the history of South Florida University football, the defensive tackle has been waived three times by Philly and released once by the Arizona Cardinals.
Nevertheless, Hector has found his way into 11 games with the Eagles, making one start, which came in 2019.
Top 3 to wear number 90:
3. Darren Howard. After being taken in the second round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints, the defensive end came to Philly in 2006 and spent the final four years of his career with the Eagles.
He played in all 64 games and collected 22 sacks, including 10 in 2008.
2. Mike Golic. A hard-nosed product from Notre Dame, the defensive tackle spent six of his eight NFL in seasons in Philly, playing with some of the all-time Philly great D-linemen in Reggie White, Clyde Simmons and Reggie White.
It would be easy to be overshadowed in that group, but Golic was a solid rotational piece who played 82 games with the Eagles, including 33 starts. He made 10.5 sacks during that time.
1. Corey Simon. The Eagles used the sixth overall pick in 2000 to grab the defensive tackle out of Florida State and, while he played just five years in Philly, Simon put up good numbers. He had 32 sacks, 215 tackles, nine forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
He went to four NFC Championship Games with the Eagles and one Super Bowl and was a Pro Bowl performer in 2004.
His time in town did not end well, however. The Eagles put the franchise tag on him after the 2004 season, but Simon refused to sign it. The Eagles took it off and Simon went to the Colts where he played just 13 games as injuries caught up with and ended his career after four games with the Titans in 2007.
Runner-up
William Perry. It was a toss-up between Perry and Treyvon Hester, but I’m going with Perry because I am a nickname guy and “The Fridge” is one of the best nicknames out there.
Perry’s final 24 games of a 138-game career spent mostly with the Chicago Bears came in Philly and he had one sack to show for his efforts. The defensive tackle’s career, however, was widely celebrated while in Chicago where he scored two rushing touchdowns and caught another.
Meanwhile, Hester had the fingernail redirection of a last-second field goal try by Cody Parkey in a wild-card playoff game against the Bears two years ago that preserved a 16-15 win by the Eagles. The slight deflection led to the ball hitting the upright and cross bar and will forever be known as the double doink.
Others:
Aaron Brown, Randall Mitchell, William Perry, Ronnie Dixon, Jon Harris, Ben Williams, Antonio Dixon, Clifton Geathers, Marcus Smith, Justin Hamilton, Treyvon Hester.
