After losing in the playoffs, the Philadelphia Eagles are making one of their first actions as a Super Bowl champion.
On Thursday, January 18, the Eagles signed 17 players to futures contracts, including Terrell Lewis, a linebacker. Lewis was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He ended the 2021 season with a Super Bowl victory.
Mark Inabinett of Alabama reports:The vast majority of players who sign reserve/future contracts choose to remain with the NFL team that featured them on the practice squad at the conclusion of the regular season. The Philadelphia Eagles added former Alabama linebacker Terrell Lewis and former UAB wide receiver Austin Watkins on reserve/future contracts on Thursday, but there are exceptions.
Lewis, 25, played for the Rams for three seasons. Lewis accumulated 40 tackles, 6 sacks, and 10 quarterback hits in 30 games, including 7 starts.
Nevertheless, he was let go before the 2022 season ended. Before the season ended, Lewis was added to the practice squad of the Chicago Bears.
He was on the Bears’ 53-man roster at the end of the 2023 preseason. But Chicago had to let Lewis go to make room on the roster after they were granted two players off waivers.
Lewis was a member of the Chicago Bears’ 53-player active roster on August 28, the day the team cut its preseason roster in order to comply with the NFL’s regular-season cap, according to Inabinett. Lewis had racked up three sacks in the preseason, two of which resulted in forced fumbles. However, Lewis was one of the players Chicago cut to make room on the roster for the waiver claims, and the Bears were given two players off waivers the day after the roster cuts.
Lewis was released in the middle of the 2023 season, but not before joining the practice squad of the New Orleans Saints.
Because of Philadelphia’s lack of depth at linebacker, Lewis has a good chance of making the team even if it’s far too early to predict the Eagles’ roster when training camp arrives.
Shaq Leonard, Nicholas Morrow, Zach Cunningham, and Shaun Bradley are the Eagles’ four predicted free agents at linebacker. Lewis has experience playing at outside linebacker. Cunningham plays the entire season as the starter weakside linebacker, with Leonard and Morrow being the top two linebackers at middle linebacker.
During training camp before the 2023 season, Philadelphia signed street free agents Cunningham and Myles Jack to address their linebacker shortage.
Jack eventually announced his retirement, but not before returning to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Cunningham, on the other hand, performed better than expected, starting 10 of his 13 games and recording 85 tackles, which was third most on the squad.
In the event that Cunningham leaves, Philadelphia will start weakside linebacker Nolan Smith, a first-round selection, with Lewis, who played in 48% of the team’s defensive snaps in 2021 and 2022, in a backup role.
Once more, a lot more moves will be made by the Eagles between now and the start of the team’s offseason workouts in May. However, Lewis, a seasoned linebacker who has won a Super Bowl, would be a useful addition.
For Heavy.com, DJ Siddiqi writes about the NFL, concentrating on the Dallas
