Tag: Malik Jackson

Philadelphia Eagles release UDFA DT Raequan Williams

Eagles release UDFA DT Raequan Williams

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In a move that shows a lot about Philadelphia’s depth at defensive tackle, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler is reporting that undrafted free agent defensive tackle Raequan Williams has been outright released.

The former Michigan State Spartans defensive tackle was thought to be a player that could make the Eagles 53 man roster or at least the practice squad after getting one of the biggest UDFA contracts from Philadelphia immediately after the draft.

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Report: Philadelphia Eagles to release DT Anthony Rush

Eagles to release Anthony Rush as roster cutdowns continue

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The Philadelphia Eagles continue to trim their roster down to the league-mandated 53 players and Terez A. Paylor of Yahoo Sports is reporting that defensive tackle Anthony Rush will be released.

Rush was signed by the Eagles as an undrafted free agent last spring before being waived and signed to the Raiders practice squad. Rush was signed to the Eagles active roster in October after several injuries at defensive tackle and logged 10 tackles and three tackles for loss in nine games.

Rush is young and talented, but playing behind three of the top defensive tackles in football in Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, and Malik Jackson.

With Rush’s release, the Eagles roster now sits at 62 players.

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Eagles defensive line lands in the top-3 of a ranking of all 32 units entering the 2020 NFL season

Philadelphia Eagles defensive line is No. 2 in a PFF ranking of all 32 units

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The Philadelphia Eagles have always had one of the most aggressive defensive lines in the NFL but the 2020 season should provide the opportunity for the position group to resemble the units from the golden-years.

The Eagles will get Malik Jackson back from injury and added Javon Hargrave via free agency, thrusting the defensive tackle position straight into the discussions about the NFL’s top units.

Pro Football Focus just ranked all 32 defensive lines across the NFL and the Philadelphia Eagles landed at No. 2 on the list behind T.J. Watt and the Steelers vaunted unit.

2. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
The Philadelphia Eagles have had one of the strongest defensive lines in football for years — not just blessed with top-end talent, but with incredible depth. That doesn’t look likely to change any time soon, and they have added multiple pieces over this past offseason.

Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham remain and are likely still the unit’s best two players, though Graham’s 2019 PFF grade and pressure total were each the lowest he’s had in a season since 2015; he may be starting to show signs of slowing down at 32 years old. Graham still notched an impressive 67 total pressures and graded well against both the run and pass, so he will likely be a strong starter in 2020. Cox continues to be the best power-rusher in the NFL, generating more pressures over the past two seasons than any interior player not named Aaron Donald.

Derek Barnett’s playing time increased last season, even with some time missed due to injuries, but he didn’t take a corresponding step forward as a player. Alongside Cox inside, the team added former Steeler Javon Hargrave, giving them an incredibly powerful interior duo. Hargrave proved last season that he could step into an expanded role when Stephon Tuitt went down, generating career-bests in PFF grade (83.4), pass-rushing grade (76.9) and total pressures (49).

Malik Jackson barely featured last season but will hope to prove he can be a significant addition and a situational pass-rusher, while the door remains open for Josh Sweat to continue to earn himself a larger role, particularly if Barnett isn’t able to make strides in his development. Sweat notched 27 total pressures last season on 274 pass-rush snaps.

Jackson’s return paired with Hargrave’s game-wrecking ability should allow Fletcher Cox to re-establish himself among the best pure defensive tackles in the game and he should now see his share of single-blockers thanks to that.

If Derek Barnett can take the next step as a pass rusher without any dropoff from Brandon Graham this unit could be the best in the NFL.

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Philadelphia Eagles currently have the most money already committed to the 2021 salary cap

Eagles have $267.3 million committed to the 2021 salary cap

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The Philadelphia Eagles have huge expectations as they enter the 2020 NFL season and while the business will need to be handled on the field, Howie Roseman and company will need to handle some huge business off the field as well.

ESPN’s Field Yates just revealed which NFL teams have the most money committed to salary cap space for the 2021 season, and the Eagles were tops on the list at $267 million already spread out

In a breakdown of salaries and bonuses from OverTheCap, Carson Wentz, Fletcher Cox, Zach Ertz, Lane Johnson, and Alshon Jeffery currently hold the largest base salaries and cap hits.

The Eagles will likely look to either restructure or extend Fletcher Cox, while Zach Ertz, Brandon Brooks, Lane Johnson, and a bevy of other players could also be facing restructured deals, contract extensions or flat-out release.

The Eagles situation gets even direr if the salary cap shrinks due to the loss of income stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

Howie Roseman has his work cut out for him going forward.

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PFF: Jags’ 2017 defense lands third-best WAR rate of decade

The Jags’ 2017 defense wasn’t only one of the best in team history but it was also one of the best of the last decade.

The defense the Jacksonville Jaguar built in 2017 will always be remembered as arguably the best in team history. When looking at NFL history, they’ve also received favorable rankings as the unit nearly propelled them to the Super Bowl.

Pro Football Focus recently added to that praise by declaring the Jags’ 2017 defense the third-best (by Wins Above Replacement metrics) when looking at the 2010s. In a nutshell, the WAR metric uses PFF ratings to dictate the value of a group (or sometimes a player) in comparison to replacement-level victories.

The only teams that ranked higher were the 2015 Denver Broncos and 2018 Chicago Bears, who were ranked first and second, respectively. The 2013 Seattle Seahawks’ defense also made the list, coming in at the No. 4 spot.

(Note: For a full explanation of PFF’s war metric, click here.)

The Jags’ 2017 defense had it all and each level of the field consisted of stars from the defensive line (Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue), to the linebacking corps (Myles Jack and Paul Posluszny), to the secondary (A.J. Bouye and Jalen Ramsey).

The unit led the league in several key categories, as their passing defense allowed the fewest yards through the air (2,718) and the lowest passing yard average (169.9). They were also second in sacks that year and propelled the Jags to a +10 turnover margin.

Unfortunately, things fell apart after that season and the group had to be dismantled to reallocate money. However, for the time that the group was together it was an awesome thing to watch as offenses had an extremely difficult time scoring.

Malik Jackson could provide more pass rush for the Eagles by moving to defensive end?

Eagles DT Malik Jackson could play primarily at defensive end during 2020 season

The Philadelphia Eagles avoided adding a pass rusher during free agency and didn’t address the position until they selected Casey Toohill in the later rounds.

With the Eagles needing more pressure off of the edge, Jim Schwartz and company could turn to a guy already on the roster, looking to redeem himself.

Malik Jackson signed a big-money deal to play next to Fletcher Cox at defensive tackle but saw his 2019 season end during the season opener against the Redskins.

During free agency, the Eagles added Javon Hargrave to the roster and that left some wondering where that leaves Jackson? With several unproven defensive ends on the roster, the Eagles could turn to Jackson when they need more pressure off the edge according to NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Jackson has 32.5 career sacks, came into the NFL as a defensive end, and could turn this opportunity into his future.

Brandon Graham is 32 and Derek Barnett likely has one more season to prove he deserved to be a first-round pick.

With Jim Schwartz preferring to rush the passer and utilize his defensive line based on rotation, don’t be shocked if Jackson spends time at both positions, with Jackson getting the call on third downs.

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Eagles DT Malik Jackson looking forward to Week 14 matchup vs. Drew Brees

Eagles defensive tackle Malik Jackson says he won’t accept Drew Brees apology for comments about protesting of police brutality

It’s been almost two-years since Malik Jackson completed an NFL game, so he’s definitely chomping at the bit to return to the field.

After Drew Brees’s comments last week, Jackson is even more motivated to get back on the field with his Eagles teammates. The Saints star quarterback has come under fire after stating that he was opposed to kneeling during the National Anthem when asked about potential “Black Lives Matter” protests during the NFL season.

Brees’s reasoning was that kneeling during the anthem disrespected the American flag. After severe backlash from fans and teammates alike, Brees apologized for his remarks or interpretation.

The apology didn’t smooth things for over Eagles defensive tackle Malik Jackson, who said that he does not think Brees’ apology was sincere.

“I don’t accept his apology,” Jackson said, via NJ.com. “I think he’s only apologizing because people came for him and people are disagreeing with him and he understands that his base in Louisiana, there’s a lot of black people.”

Jackson went on to say that he definitely is looking forward to the Week 14 matchup on December 13 here in Philadelphia.

“Definitely excited to play him this year,” Jackson said. “I’m going to have a lot to say. Hopefully, I don’t get too wild with it, but I don’t understand how you could say that when you have people blocking for you who are black, catching balls from you who are black and people that are running the ball for you who are black.”

The Eagles need Jackson to return to his 2018 form and if Bres’s comments motivate him even more to have a great season than the Birds will benefit greatly down the stretch.

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Fletcher Cox leading Eagles defensive linemen through workouts at his home

Eagles’ defensive line working out together at Fletcher Cox’s house

With Malcolm Jenkins returning to New Orleans via free agency, there was an assumption that the Eagles would face a leadership void.

That simply hasn’t been the case with several Eagles players increase their leadership and none more important than Fletcher Cox. The Eagles All-Pro has gathered some of his defensive linemates to his Houston area home for some pre-training camp work.

Eagles edge-rusher Brandon Graham was on Instagram Live on Tuesday night with Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson when it was revealed that the defensive line took a trip to Cox’s house for the week.

Transcripts via NBC Sports Philadelphia:

GRAHAM: We out here with Fletch … The D-Line came out.

We got out here, we’re gonna be with Wash, we’re gonna be with Wash working out. Most of the D-Line came out. Hargreaves couldn’t come.

JACKSON: I’d seen you with Slay, how was that?

GRAHAM: Oh, that was cool. You know, we’d been working out since last year, when we found out they was trying to trade for him. So we always just stayed together after that.

[…]

We start working out tomorrow.

Javon Hargrave is the most important defensive tackle not making the trip but it’s a good sign for a team that should have an advantage in preparation thanks to no changeover in the coaching staff.

Graham had previously worked out with Darius Slay while in Michigan and it appears that this Eagles team will be tight-knit and prepared for work in a few weeks.

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7 Eagles’ reserves who need to step up during the 2020 NFL season

7 Eagles reserves who need to step up during the 2020 NFL season

The Philadelphia Eagles enter the 2020 NFL season as playoff contenders and Super Bowl 55 hopefuls.

The Birds will ride the arm of Carson Wentz and a revamped defense that now includes a shutdown cornerback and a dominant interior defensive line.

With the Eagles starters looking solid across the board, it’ll be imperative for a group of reserves to step up this season.

Here are 7 Eagles reserves who’ll be called upon in huge moments and need to step up during the 2020 NFL season.

***

1. Malik Jackson

Jackson will be super motivated after missing the entire season due to a foot injury suffered in the 2019 season opener against the Washington Redskins.

Jackson is looking at starting the season as a reserve after the Eagles inked Javon Hargrave to a monster deal.

Howie Roseman signed Jackson to a three-year deal in hopes of pairing the talented defensive tackle with Fletcher Cox.

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5 Eagles that could be included in a trade during the 2020 NFL Draft

7 Eagles that could be included in a trade during the 2020 NFL Draft draft

The Philadelphia Eagles have several players that they covet in the NFL draft and it’s not without question that Howie Roseman makes a draft-day trade.

The Eagles are likely to include picks in any deal but could also throw in a player or two for some more salary-cap relief.

With the draft set to kick off in over an hour, here are five Eagles that could be apart of draft-night deals.

***

1. Andre Dillard

The Eagles 2019 first-round pick is listed as the teams’ starter at left tackle but according to NBC Sports he could be included in a deal if the teams need more ammunition to move up in the draft to grab a receiver.

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