Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman was a busy man reworking a roster that collapsed late last season. He has made headlines for signing running back Saquon Barkley and edge rusher Bryce Huff and landing a draft haul that addressed the defense in big ways.
But what’s been missing from the conversation of a successful offseason is another player who will be new to Philadelphia, according to former NFL player and scout Bucky Brooks on the “Move the Sticks” podcast.
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“The most underrated signing on their defense is (linebacker) Devin White,” Brooks said on Monday’s show. “Yeah, no one has even talked about Devin White, like, I don’t know if we’ve forgotten but this dude two years ago, we talked about him being one of the best at his position.
“Now building a team that never really invested in linebackers. Get someone off the scrapheap, who’s a legitimate dude. Oh, they’re head and shoulders above last season.”
The Eagles signed White to a one-year contract that is worth up to $7.5 million this offseason. It’s a low-risk, upside signing for a player who has not fulfilled the potential of being the No. 5 overall pick in the 2019 draft. He has recovered nine fumbles, made 566 tackles and recorded 64 quarterback hits in his career.
While White was a second-team All-Pro in 2020 and a Pro Bowler in 2021, he has been inconsistent, especially last season when he lost his starting job. White told reporters he dealt with a foot injury starting in Week 3 last season. Pro Football Focus graded White at 47.4 last season, with his pass-rush and coverage grades the highest and run defense the worst part of his game.
“He may have saw dollar signs at the end of the (2022 season) and it may have gone to his head a little bit,” Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles told NJ Advance Media at the NFL Annual Meeting in May. “But he’s level-headed now and he understands the game.”
White is projected to start at right inside linebacker alongside Nakobe Dean.
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