Eagles continue to add talent, bring in Ndamukong Suh

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The Eagles added veteran nose tackle Linval Joseph earlier in the week but they weren’t quite done.

On Thursday, they agreed to terms with defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh on a one-year deal.

Suh, 35, hasn’t played in the NFL this season but was still playing at a high level for the Buccaneers in 2021. Suh started all 17 games last season, had 6 sacks, 27 tackles and 13 quarterback hits. He had two tackles against the Eagles in the playoff game.

Suh is the third defensive lineman over the age of 30 that the Eagles have added during the season. The Eagles traded for Robert Quinn (32) before the trade deadline and added Joseph (34) earlier this week. The Eagles also have 34-year-old Brandon Graham and 31-year-old Fletcher Cox in their defensive line room. The Eagles have nine players over the age of 30 and five of them are on the D-line.

Earlier this week, head coach Nick Sirianni was asked how the team gauges whether or not older players they bring in still have their physical ability and passion for the game.

“You watch the tape, talk to them,” Sirianni said. “Obviously with [DE] Robert [Quinn] you're not able to talk to him, but you watch the tape. You get a feel for guys that have been around him, guys that have been with him recently.

“Are you going to be able to tell everything? No, because you're not in the building with them and you're not with them every single day. But we feel good about the process we go through, and that these guys are going to be ready to go and ready to play.”

Suh entered the NFL as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 draft and has had a long and successful career in the league. He has played and started 191 games and has missed just two. He is a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro.

Throughout his long NFL career, Suh has never played in a game that he didn’t start.

Based on his level of play in the 2021 season, Suh could help the Eagles. Of course, we don’t know what kind of shape he’s in after not playing this season. But the same thing could be said of Joseph, who was at practice for the first time on Thursday.

While Suh would certainly help their pass rush, the Eagles really need help in the run game. They’ve given up at least 120 rushing yards in each of their last five games and at least 140 in each of their last three.

The Eagles will still be without rookie nose tackle Jordan Davis for at least a couple more weeks, but now that rotation has been bolstered by Joseph and Suh. The Eagles might need to bring them along slowly but the rotation is looking deadly for the stretch run.

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