Eagles Should Avoid The Big-Name Trap For Now

The idea that Justin Simmons would like to play in Philadelphia and reunite with Vic Fangio is hardly new. 

The thought picked up its latest gust of wind when NFL Media’s Brian Baldinger informed the world that if you point the four-time second-team All-Pro to the right house in South Jersey, he’d put the pen to paper with the Eagles to go ring chasing.

And maybe that’s the eventual outcome, but it should probably wait until the summer after Fangio can assess if second-round pick Andrew Mukuba is a viable option as a rookie or athletic third-year pro Sydney Brown is far enough away from his 2023 Week 18 ACL tear to be considered.

GM Howie Roseman drafted Mukuba because of his C.J. Gardner-Johnson-like traits in coverage, a prospect whose instincts, vision, ball skills, and calmness in space are exactly what Fangio wants in his zone-heavy coverage schemes.

Brown, meanwhile, was a “Red Star” selection at No. 66 overall in the 2023 draft, and had he not torn his ACL against the New York Giants in his last regular-season game as a rookie, it’s conceivable that Gardner-Johnson would not have been invited back for what turned into a second six-interception season for Philadelphia.

The week before his injury, Brown showed off what he could do with a brilliant 99-yard interception return for a touchdown against Arizona.

The Eagles have so many accomplished veterans making big money they want to get younger and more cost-effective where they can, and playing it safe with a descending player set to turn 32 in-season is at odds with that when you have two high-level developmental pieces and a coaching staff with the reputation of getting young players up to speed quickly.

That’s especially true in the defensive backfield, where Fangio and secondary coach Christian Parker helped cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean hit the ground running as rookies, with both developing into legitimate NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year candidates.

Now if Simmons wants to wait for Fangio to decipher whether Mukuba or Brown is a viable option to start opposite Reed Blankenship in the summer, he could serve as the Band-Aid insurance policy.

However, playing it safe and eliminating the opportunity of players who could be long-term answers for a one-year nostalgia tour is not the way the Eagles have been doing business, even with the Super Bowl window open.