Reclamation Cornerback Well Worth Gamble For Eagles

Finally, the Eagles did it. They signed an external free agent. It took nearly two days, but it happened on Tuesday evening.

Happy now, Eagles fans, especially the angst-ridden out there who gnashed their teeth because the Eagles didn’t make a move on Monday, the very first day of free agency’s tampering period, who don’t understand it’s a marathon, not a sprint in roster-building, and that Super Bowls aren’t won in the second week of March?

Whew, that’s a lot, but here it is. Mark it down, the Eagles signed their first free agent outside the building when they agreed to a deal with cornerback Riq Woolen, who just won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks in February.

The last time the Eagles signed a Super Bowl winner, they didn’t stop at one, they went for two, and that was in 2017 when they inked running back LeGarrette Blount and pass rusher Chris Long, both of whom were coming off a Super Bowl-winning season with the New England Patriots and won again that year with the Eagles.

The contract can reportedly be worth up to $15 million. The teeth-gnashers will point out that Woolen isn’t any good anymore, that he struggled last year and lost playing time to former Eagles undrafted free agentJosh Jobe. They wouldn’t be wrong.

Quinyon Mitchell Will Have New Starter Opposite Him This Season

Woolen, though, is a good bet as a reclamation project. As a fifth-round pick in 2022, he had six interceptions as a rookie, went to the Pro Bowl, and finished third in balloting for the league’s defensive rookie of the year behind winner Sauce Gardner and runner-up Aidan Hutchinson.

He set a high bar that he has had trouble reaching since, but something even better about him is that he will be just 27 on May 2, looking to spin his one-year deal into gold and a long-term deal either with the Eagles or elsewhere.

This is the kind of deal that could pay big dividends if Woolen regains that kind of mojo playing opposite Quinyon Mitchell, and make no mistake, he will start opposite the Eagles’ All-Pro when the season begins in September, barring injury.

Woolen is a better signing than Adoree Jackson, and he is better than Kelee Ringo, who failed to capitalize on his opportunity to be a starter last year, but still has a job because of his stellar special teams play.

Woolen has had an interception in every season he has been in the league, though he had only one last year when he played a career-low 817 snaps (78 percent). Still, he has 12 interceptions and 53 pass break-ups in four seasons and knows what it takes to win.