Mario Goodrich went from Oh Baby to Lil Baby in just a handful of hours.
It was, ‘Oh, Baby!’ when he made the final 53-man roster of the Philadelphia Eagles late Tuesday afternoon and then, later that evening, attended a Lil Baby concert with teammates just a couple of hundred yards away from the team’s training facility in South Philly at the Wells Fargo Center.
“I was excited,” said Goodrich. “I was with my family. We went out to eat. I ended up going to the Lil Baby concert with the DBs. It was a good time. I enjoyed it.”
Goodrich is like any athlete in general and defensive back more specifically in that he tries not to get too high or too low, though it would have been easy to ride that wave since coming out of Clemson after the 2021 season.
He went undrafted but landed in Philadelphia as a free agent.
Why?
“Brian Dawkins,” said Goodrich about why he chose Philadelphia as his destination after going unpicked. “He’s a Clemson guy. I used to watch his highlights. Then I looked at the depth chart. I had seen that they had (Darius) Slay and Avonte (Maddox), guys who had been in the league, and who had success in the league. So, I wanted to learn from guys like that.”
Dawkins is in the Hall of Fame after spending 13 of his 16-year NFL career with the Eagles, who took him in the second round of the 1996 NFL Draft.
James Bradberry signed with the Eagles after Goodrich decided to join the team.
Goodrich had a nondescript rookie summer and was released from the team following last year’s training camp. The Eagles brought him back to the practice squad, however, and he had one elevation on game day, which was on Nov. 14 against the Washington Commanders. He did not get any reps in that game.
Meanwhile, three other members of his undrafted class from last year – safety Reed Blankenship, receiver Josh Jobe, and Josh Sills made the 53. Receiver Britain Covey was also undrafted, but Covey was brought back to the practice squad and eventually became the team’s punt returner.
Sills is gone, signed by the Indianapolis Colts after the Eagles released him on cutdown day heading into this season, and Covey was released on the same day as Sills but brought back to the practice squad and could again serve as the Eagles’ punt returner.
There are four former undrafted free agents now on the 53-man roster, just a year after the Eagles went to the Super Bowl.
“I’d say they like undrafted guys,” said Goodrich, laughing before getting serious. “I’d just say they value the work the guys put in. I’m grateful to my teammates and the coaches for giving me this opportunity. I feel like it speaks for the work the guys put in.”
While on the practice squad, Goodrich was used in a variety of scout team roles, from safety to nickel to corner.
“Wherever they need me, I feel like I can put my best foot forward and help the team,” he said about this season.
It may be a role on special teams or he could be inactive on game day when the Eagles travel to Foxboro to take on the New England Patriots on Sept. 10.
“Just stay grounded, keep working, do the little things day in and out,” he said. “Stay humble and keep going.”
Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.
Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.
More must-reads: