Eagles Stay or Go 2022: Which linebackers will be back?

Reuben Frank and Dave Zangaro bring back Stay or Go in 2022, trying to figure out the futures of every Eagles player on the roster.

We already looked at receivers, cornerbacks and running backs.

Up today: Linebackers.

Genard Avery

Roob: Avery is a weird player. He’ll have a stretch every few weeks where he knocks down a pass, makes a tackle for loss and gets great pressure on the quarterback in the span of five or six plays. Then you don’t notice him for a month. It takes a very specific skill set to play the SAM, and they’re not easy to find, but the Eagles have to do better than Avery. For a guy who played 358 snaps, they just didn’t get enough production.

Verdict: Goes

Dave: The Eagles traded a fourth-round pick for Avery during the 2019 season. They didn’t get much out of him the rest of that year or in 2020 but in 2021, he was their starting SAM linebacker. That’s still somewhat of a speciality role in the defense but he earned it over rookie Patrick Johnson. But now Avery is a free agent, which makes things tricky. But he shouldn’t cost much so if the Eagles can get him for a minimum deal, he’s worth bringing back.

Verdict: Stays

Shaun Bradley

Roob: For a kid like Bradley – a 2nd-year 6th-round pick – to be a Pro Bowl alternate in his second season speaks volumes. That means other players and coaches around the league have noticed what kind of impact he makes on special teams. I don’t know if Bradley will ever be a starting linebacker, but if he can be the kind of special teams stud the Eagles used to have – Ike Reese, Jason Short, Trey Burton, Chris Maragos – he’ll be around here a long time.

Verdict: Stays

Dave: Bradley didn’t get much time on defense this past season but he blossomed as a special teams ace, even being named as an alternate to the Pro Bowl. I have wanted to see Bradley get a chance more on defense, especially as he led the team in special teams tackles. Still, that production on teams alone is worth keeping him around and I suspect the Eagles will.

Verdict: Stays

T.J. Edwards

Roob: It’s undeniable the impact Edwards made on the defense when his playing time increased dramatically starting with the Lions game. He brought an element of toughness and physicality the defense was lacking and showed tremendous improvement over his play a year earlier. That said, I still think the Eagles need to get better at linebacker. I still think Edwards is best suited to some sub packages as opposed to the 95 percent of defensive snaps he played the second half of the season. But I’ll take him on my team anytime.

Verdict: Stays

Dave: Aside from playing a weaker schedule in the second half of the season, the biggest change in the Eagles’ defense in 2021 was putting Edwards back into the starting lineup as the top ‘backer. Maybe he’s somewhat limited athletically, but Edwards is a smart, instinctive, tough player who added some much-needed physicality to that side of the ball. Edwards would have been a restricted free agent but the Eagles jumped the gun during the season and signed him to a contract, ensuring his return in 2022.

Verdict: Stays

Christian Elliss

Roob: Two interesting notes about Christian Ellis: 1) He went to Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch, Colo. How many NFL players went to a high school that has their name in it? 2) His dad is two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Luther Ellis, who was a rookie on the 1995 Lions team that lost to the Eagles 58-37 in a wild-card game at the Vet. I don’t know anything else about him.

Verdict: Goes

Dave: Elliss, a UDFA from Idaho, bounced around during his rookie season but spent some time on the Eagles’ practice squad and then signed a futures deal when the season ended. He has a steep uphill climb to make the roster.

Verdict: Goes

Patrick Johnson

Roob: The main theme today is “They have to get better at linebacker,” and that goes for the bottom of the depth chart as well. Good for Johnson making the team this year as a rookie 7th-round pick, and he ran around and made a few plays on special teams, but unless Johnson makes a big jump in training camp, he’s got to be a practice squadder. Keep him around and try to develop him, but they need more than what Johnson can give them right now.

Verdict: Goes

Dave: The Eagles drafted Johnson in the seventh round out of Tulane and liked what he offered in training camp quite a bit. He made the roster and had a role on defense early but then lost it. His status on the roster probably hinges on Avery. If Avery is back, then there might not be a roster spot for Johnson. But the Eagles in that case would love to keep him around on the practice squad.

Verdict: Goes

Alex Singleton

Roob: Kind of the same deal as Edwards. Singleton gives everything he has and gets the most out of his ability. He seems to rack up 15 tackles every game and effort will never be an issue with him. But he’s just limited as an every-down linebacker. You’ve got to admire a guy who took his route to the NFL – undrafted, released by the Seahawks, Patriots and Vikings, a few years in the CFL, finally makes it with the Eagles – but (stop us if you’ve heard this before) the Eagles need to get better at linebacker. So keep him around for special teams and as a backup, but he can’t play 700 snaps like he has the last two years.

Verdict: Stays

Dave: Singleton is set to be a restricted free agent so the Eagles will have to figure out if they want to tender him or not. That would come with a salary of over $2 million in 2022, so instead they could gamble and try to bring him back for cheaper. Singleton didn’t have a great season in 2022 but he played better down the stretch after he was forced back into a more prominent role. He’s an aggressive player and even if his role gets reduced on defense is a key special teamer.

Verdict: Stays

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JaCoby Stevens

Roob: I would have liked to have seen him play a little more this year – he only got on the field in the last two regular-season games – and I’m not ready to give up on him, but barring a dramatic improvement in camp, he’s another one who should be earmarked for the practice squad.

Verdict: Goes

Dave: The Eagles kept Stevens on their practice squad all year but he did get some action. The former LSU safety made a position switch in the NFL. I thought the Eagles would have a plan for him in some sort of hybrid role but that never came to fruition. For now, I have him off the roster.

Verdict: Goes

Davion Taylor

Roob: It’s tough to tell what the Eagles have in Taylor. In the six games he played significant snaps this year, he was very active, and he’s different from the Eagles’ other linebackers because he’s more of a sideline-to-sideline athlete than a big physical thumper. The injuries are a concern, though. He’s spent almost as much time on IR his first two years than on the field. There’s a role for him if he can find a way to stay healthy.

Verdict: Stays

Dave: We saw some really good signs from Taylor in 2021 and then he got hurt and missed the rest of the season. The encouraging thing was that he improved enough from Year 1 to Year 2 to make us think he has a bright future. The problem with Taylor is that he’s really raw and basically has to learn on the job. But I’d be willing to do that with him. There are going to be bumps along the way but play him in 2022 and hope he develops into a high-level starter.

Verdict: Stays