The Eagles secondary has gone from one of the deepest groups on the team to in need of a desperation signing just three days into training camp.
The team announced on Saturday afternoon that they have signed cornerback Orlando Scandrick, a move they had to make after cornerback Cre'von LeBlanc suffered a foot injury that will keep him sidelined for a few weeks.
With LeBlanc out, the Eagles were without three of their top six cornerbacks, as Jalen Mills is on the PUP list and Ronald Darby is not taking part in team drills. It isn't clear when Darby or Mills will be back.
Without Mills, Darby and LeBlanc, the Eagles were fielding a group of cornerbacks on defense that had a total of 30 games started between them in Sidney Jones, Rasul Douglas and Avonte Maddox. None of them have ever started the majority of the games in a season and all have mostly been backups during their time in the NFL.
The Eagles might not need any of them to play the full season — although they want Maddox too — but by bringing in Scandrick they have added a cornerback that has 76 games of starting experience in the NFL and 140 games overall. The team found out last season how quickly things can fall apart at cornerback, as they were forced to play Chandon Sullivan and De'vante Bausby in a crucial late-season game against the New Orleans Saints. Needless to say, the defense struggled that day.
The team is hoping that Scandrick can rebound from a down season in Kansas City. According to Sports Info Solutions, Scandrick allowed six touchdowns — more than anyone else on the Chiefs. He did, however, bat away 11 passes and allowed only 55 catches in 529 pass coverage snaps.
Scandrick, at the very least, he is an upgrade over the cornerbacks at the bottom of the Eagles' depth chart. It will be interesting to see how long Scandrick sticks around, and if the signing means the Eagles could be open to keeping seven cornerbacks on the roster — or if maybe Mills will be starting the season on the PUP list. When he is activated, however, the Eagles might have a tough decision to make on their 53-man roster. Carrying Mills, Darby, LeBlanc, Jones, Douglas, Maddox and Scandrick might be tough to do.
The signing of Scandrick, and the injury to LeBlanc, however, is another reason the Eagles would be wise to not trade any of their cornerbacks, even if it means carrying seven on the roster.
The Eagles have spent all offseason preaching how quickly things can change when it comes to depth at a certain position. That has certainly proven to be true at cornerback early on. Although they might be able to net a late-round pick for one of their cornerbacks, a fourth-or-fifth round pick is not going to help this team as much as having six-or-seven quality cornerbacks on the roster will. This is a team that is expected to compete for a Super Bowl, and as they have found out over the last two seasons, depth is key to making deep runs into the playoffs.
The team is clearly doing everything it can to avoid the disaster that took place at cornerback last season. Bringing in veterans like Scandrick, and keeping as many quality cornerbacks as they can, is the right move.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
