Corey Graham is Back

We’ve been waiting all summer for this news.

https://twitter.com/Eagles/status/1026138604521889793

So what do we make of this?

First, the best team in the league just got better. Adding a talented, veteran player who knows the scheme and fits his role perfectly is a good thing. The Eagles secondary just got deeper and more talented.

I don’t think this is a reflection of anything being wrong with Tre Sullivan. By all accounts, the second year DB has played well this summer and the Eagles are happy with his progress.

I think the concern is what would happen if Rodney McLeod or Malcolm Jenkins got hurt. Sullivan would probably be fine as the #3 safety if that meant he was strictly a role player. If he had to start, especially for an extended period, the defense would be vulnerable. Sullivan has never played a down in the NFL. Heck, he doesn’t even have a full year on the practice squad.

If the Eagles weren’t a championship-level team, taking a chance on Sullivan would make some sense. Developing cheap, young talent is critical in the salary cap age. Sullivan is both.

With the Eagles pushing to repeat as Super Bowl winners, Howie Roseman, Doug Pederson and Jim Schwartz obviously decided that bringing back Graham was the way to go.

Graham turned out to be a really key role player last year. He was in on 32 tackles, picked off two passes and broke up four others. He came up big in the playoffs. Graham had five solo tackles in the NFC title game and in the Super Bowl. He picked off a pass against the Vikings. Would Tre Sullivan play like that in the postseason?

The addition of Graham certainly does make the Eagles deeper, but it also complicates roster projections.

Does this mean Sullivan is more likely to be cut? Does this mean Chris Maragos could be in danger of losing his spot? The Eagles are very deep at CB so they can’t go light there and keep five safeties.

There are a few weeks of Training Camp left. There are four preseason games. Roster decisions will be made based on how the players perform as well as who is healthy. To a certain extent, the situation will sort itself out.

The Eagles would love for everyone to play well and everyone to be healthy. That would give them some tough decisions to make, but they would gladly take that scenario.

For now, Sullivan is learning on the job. Maragos is on the PUP list. And Graham is back as the #3 safety.

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Roster Moves: #Eagles sign S Corey Graham and TE Gannon Sinclair to one-year contracts
Waive S Ryan Neal
Waive/injured TE Adam Zaruba.

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 5, 2018

Neal was hurt in the spring and that put him behind schedule. Cutting him made room for Graham.

Zaruba is hurt so he’s replaced by Sinclair. The Eagles need TEs for practice reps. Sinclair has bounced around the league for a few years. He has good size at 6-6, 256.

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Did you get to see Dawk’s speech last night?

It was very Dawk, meaning passionate and from the heart. He talked about his battle with depression and how that affected his life. It isn’t easy to bare your soul like that in such a public way, but Dawk has never been one to do things the easy way.

For my money, it was the best speech of the night.

I did enjoy hearing Jerry Kramer tell Vince Lombardi stories. Those never get old.

I did not enjoy Ray Lewis preaching to me for 33 minutes. Ugh.

*****

In case you missed it, I wrote a long piece on Dawk’s career.

I am grateful that I got to see every game he played in for the Eagles. He was truly special.

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