He is a study in perseverance, released four times from practice squads and waived twice after training camp.
Now, Christian Elliss is pushing to be a starting linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles. The second-year linebacker, who just recently turned 24, might be one of the biggest surprises in the team’s training camp, which wrapped up a fifth day on Thursday.
“Last year I felt like I was tiptoeing," Elliss said. “I felt like I was still getting used to being here in the NFL, but every day that goes by, every week, every year, I just get more comfortable.
“The game’s slowing down. I still have a long ways to go. I want to be one of the best, I want to be one of the greats, but it starts with today, it starts with the next step.”
The lack of depth at the position has been noted more than once this offseason, so Elliss can hear opportunity knocking loudly and clearly. He could find a way into the starting lineup, which, of course, would mean taking Nicholas Morrow’s job, because Nakobe Dean is entrenched as one of the starters.
Should he not crack the lineup, Ellis appears to be at least a play away from getting time should a player suffer an injury, which is what happened to Dean during Thursday’s practice. Dean left early in the session but was seen on the sidelines later without a helmet. He didn’t return to action.
Elliss was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent out of Idaho in 2021 but was waived at the end of camp. He was signed by the Eagles to their practice squad, and Philly released him three times from there before the San Francisco 49ers grabbed him for their practice squad.
He lasted a week with the Niners before being released. The Eagles grabbed him again but cut him after camp last year. He was added to their practice squad a day after he was waived.
Elliss spent 11 weeks on the practice squad but was promoted for a Dec. 4 game against the Tennessee Titans, a blowout win by the Eagles that allowed him to see playing time on defense.
He made three tackles in 10 defensive snaps while also giving the Eagles’ struggling-at-the-time special teams a boost. There was no going back to the practice squad after that, with him playing the final five regular-season games and in the team’s three playoff games.
“My first year in the league I was bouncing around from team to team,” he said. “Through a lot of hard work and a lot of gifts God has given me, I’ve been able to work, and thankfully the coaches have been great. I have amazing teammates, so they make my job easier. It’s been a lot of fun this training camp.”
Elliss has opened the eyes of the player he is battling with for playing time – Morrow.
“He’s playing well,” said Morrow, who signed a one-year deal in the offseason as a free agent from the Chicago Bears. “Shoot, the first day he had a pick. He did a really good job (Tuesday) with some of the run fits. He had a play (Thursday) where a receiver caught it, he punched it out, so he’s having a really good camp.”
Whether or not Elliss has the staying power to make it to the starting line in New England for the season opener against the Patriots remains to be seen.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman may not want to leave anything to chance and make a trade for a linebacker, such as he did at the safety position last year when he acquired Chauncey Gardner-Johnson on Aug. 30.
“I honestly didn’t think anything of (competing to be a starter),” said Elliss. “This offseason I was training, hanging out with my family, playing some pickleball, having fun, enjoying my time with them.
"I wasn’t thinking about ‘Oh, I could start, I could do all these things’ because you never know. You never know.”
Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.
Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.
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