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The Eagles are signing LB Terrell Lewis.
The Philadelphia Eagles are landing a Super Bowl champion among their first moves following their playoff loss.
The Eagles signed 17 players to futures contracts on Thursday, January 18 and among the names was linebacker Terrell Lewis. Lewis is a former 2020 third-round draft selection of the Los Angeles Rams and won a Super Bowl at the conclusion of the 2021 season.
Via Alabama’s Mark Inabinett:
“Players who sign reserve/future contracts overwhelming opt to stay with the NFL team that had them on the practice squad at the end of the season,” writes Inabinett. “But there are exceptions, and the Philadelphia Eagles signed two of them on Thursday when they added former Alabama linebacker Terrell Lewis and former UAB wide receiver Austin Watkins via reserve/future contracts.”
Terrell Smith Spent 3 Seasons as Rams’ Backup Linebacker
As mentioned before, the 25-year-old Lewis played with the Rams and spent three seasons with the franchise. In 30 games and seven starts, Lewis racked up 40 tackles, six sacks and 10 quarterback hits.
However, he was released prior to the conclusion of the 2022 season. Lewis then landed with the Chicago Bears‘ practice squad before the end of the season.
He ended the 2023 preseason as a member of the Bears’ 53-man roster. However, Chicago was awarded two players off of waivers, leading to them letting Lewis go to create roster space.
“Lewis was on Chicago’s 53-player active roster when the Bears reduced their preseason roster on Aug. 28 to meet the NFL’s regular-season limit,” writes Inabinett. “During the preseason, Lewis had recorded three sacks, including two that forced fumbles. But the day after the roster cuts, the Bears were awarded two players off waivers, and Lewis was one of the players let go by Chicago to create the roster space for the waiver claims.”
Shortly after, Lewis would land with the New Orleans Saints‘ practice squad before he was released in the middle of the 2023 season.
Eagles’ Lack of Depth at Linebacker Could Lead to Roster Spot for Terrell Smith
While it’s way too early to project what the Eagles’ roster will look like when training camp rolls around, Lewis has a viable chance of making the roster because of Philadelphia’s lack of depth at the linebacker position.
Lewis has experience playing at outside linebacker and the Eagles have four linebackers projected to hit free agency — Shaq Leonard, Nicholas Morrow, Zach Cunningham and Shaun Bradley. Leonard and Morrow are the top two linebackers at middle linebacker with Cunningham playing the entire season as the starting weakside linebacker.
Philadelphia has had issues recently with filling out the linebacker position, signing street free agents Cunningham and Myles Jack during training camp prior to the 2023 season.
While Jack ended up retiring shortly after — before making a comeback with the Pittsburgh Steelers — Cunningham exceeded expectations by starting 10 of his 13 appearances and posting 85 tackles, the third-highest total on the team.
If Cunningham does depart, Philadelphia go with first-round pick Nolan Smith as the starting weakside linebacker while using Lewis — who appeared in 48% of the teams’s defensive snaps during the 2021 and 2022 seasons — could play a backup role.
Again, the Eagles will make a lot more moves between now and the start of offseason team activities in May. But signing Lewis — an experienced linebacker with a Super Bowl on his resume — could be a valuable addition.
