Linebacker T.J. Edwards will be missed by Eagles

By Bruce Ewing | Last updated Mar 13, 2023 7:40 PM ET

Nobody noticed when the Philadelphia Eagles signed an undrafted free agent named T.J. Edwards in 2019. But after signing a three-year, $19.5 million deal with his hometown Chicago Bears, Philly’s underrated linebacker could be hard to replace.

Edwards didn’t miss many ball carriers in 2022. His 154 tackles led the team and his 99 solo tackles were second-most by any player in Eagles history. Fellow linebacker Kyzir White had a good year with 110 tackles of his own, but he could leave as a free agent too.

At the moment, Philadelphia has five linebackers signed for 2023. Haasan Reddick is listed as a linebacker but he’s most effective when used as an edge rusher. After him, only Nakobe Dean, Kyron Johnson, Shaun Bradley and Christian Elliss remain under contract.

Dean has promise, but the former Butkus Award winner played very little during his rookie season. Johnson and Elliss had 20 snaps between them while Bradley was limited to special teams in 2022.

Of course, it’s hard to blame Edwards for leaving. The linebacker made a little over $4 million in four years as an Eagle, but now he’ll get $12 million guaranteed from Chicago.

Philadelphia is saddled with a league-high $54 million in dead-nflcap money, so few expected Edwards to return for 2023. Unfortunately, Edwards wasn’t the only Eagle to leave the nest on Monday.

Javon Hargrave signed a four-year, $80 million contract with the 49ers and Marcus Epps signed a two-year deal with the Raiders. All three will be missed, but with so many free agents on the Eagles’ roster, a home-grown talent like Edwards would’ve been nice to keep.

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