Eagles Snare a Projected Starting Safety in Terrell Edmunds

When the Eagles signed safety Justin Evans last week, the intimation was that the organization wasn’t done at the position and the other shoe dropped Friday when Philadelphia agreed to terms with Terrell Edmunds, a five-year starter in Pittsburgh, to a one-year deal, according to a league source.

Last season the 6-foot-1, 217-pound Edmunds, the brother of Chicago star linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, started 15 games for the Steelers and piled up 70 tackles – three for loss – along with two sacks and five pass breakups.

He was graded as the 36th best safety in the NFL last season, per Pro Football Focus, ahead of the two players at the position that the Eagles lost in free agency: C.J. Gardner-Johnson (No. 49), and Marcus Epps (No. 71).

More of a box safety, Edmunds lined up there for 322 of the 886 defensive snaps he played last season. He was at free safety 254 times and in the slot 195 times so there is some versatility to work with. The rest of Edmunds’ reps last season came on the line (66) and as an outside cornerback (49).

"I'll definitely say I'm a versatile player," Edmunds said his introductory video conference call. "One that's gonna go out there and give everything I got no matter the position that the coach puts me in. So wherever they need me to go, I'm just gonna go out there and give 110 percent.

"... I'm just ready to work now. I'm excited."

New Eagles defensive coordinator Sean Desai is expected to keep the Vic Fangio-inspired scheme that the Eagles ran in 2021 and 2022 with Jonathan Gannon, now the head coach in Arizona.

In that philosophy, the safeties are typically labeled left and right with no free or string designation and are virtually interchangeable. Edmunds, though, has basically been a strong safety in his career so the fit will be interesting to see develop.

A 2018 first-round pick out of Virginia Tech, he and Tremaine (No. 16 to Buffalo) were the first set of brothers to be drafted in the first round of the same NFL Draft. Terrell went No. 28 to the Steelers.

Edmunds said his goodbye to Pittsburgh via social media on Thursday.

Thank you Pittsburgh for making my dreams come to reality! You will forever be apart of me and my journey! I’m thankful for all of my coaches, teammates and every fan supporting! To my bruddas y’all kno how we rockin, it’s gonna be luv until the wheels fall off 🙏🏾🖤 #ManTime🫡🔒 pic.twitter.com/nTujRQ4Oej
— Terrell Edmunds (@rell_island6) March 23, 2023

He will immediately be penciled in as a starter, probably opposite second-year man Reed Blankenship, who played well when given the opportunity to play as an undrafted rookie last season.

"Just talking and learning about the culture of the Eagles and everything that the Eagles stand on," Edmunds said when asked why Philadelphia. "That's something that I really fell in love with. Just going out there and having that dawg mentality. Just putting everything out there on the line for the person beside you and just playing together as one.

"I think that's something that really drove me to come here."

Also on hand are Evans, K’Von Wallace, and a trio of futures signings: Andre Chachere, Marquise Blair, and Tristin McCollum.

Over five seasons in Pittsburgh, Edmunds started 75 of 79 games and recorded five interceptions, five sacks, a fumble recovery, 15 tackles for loss, nine quarterback hits, and 26 pass breakups. His PFF grades were No. 65 of 93 as a rookie and then, 55 of 83, 22 of 94, and 70 of 92 before bouncing back a bit last season.

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-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