At the start of the 2015 NFL regular season, Philadelphia Eagles inside linebacker Najee Goode was looking for a job in the NFL.
Goode was one of the final roster cuts for the Eagles at the end of the preseason, and he didn't sign with another team to start the year.
He resigned with the Eagles on Sept. 22.
Heading into a Week 6 Monday night showdown against the New York Giants, the Eagles were already without inside linebackers Kiko Alonso (knee) and Mychal Kendricks (hamstring).
After intercepting a pass and recovering a fumble, DeMeco Ryans was forced to to leave Monday night's game with a hamstring injury.
It was now Goode's time to prove that he can play.
"You never know," Goode said. "Anything can happen. Definitely anything can happen. I'm just happy they trusted me enough to being me back and put me into a great situation."
Goode spent the majority of the last two seasons in Philadelphia, but he was cut after the team made numerous changes at the linebacker position during the offseason.
"When we made the cuts down to 53, that was the hardest cut for us," Eagles head coach Chip Kelly said. "That's why it took the longest, we were trying to figure out a way to keep Najee because we believe he's a National Football League player. I think he's shown he's a National Football League player."
Although both Alonso and Kendricks practiced on Wednesday, they are not expected to play Week 7 against the Carolina Panthers.
Rookie Jordan Hicks and Ryans, who didn't practice on Wednesday, are projected to start for the fifth straight week.
Goode, who had one tackle in eight snaps on Monday night, felt that an opportunity was coming his way.
"I knew that something was going to happen," he said. "It's a long season. No matter where you end up, you've got to go out there and strive and push. If it wasn't here, just keep my head up, keep moving forward. But I'm happy as hell that I'm back."
The Eagles are striving for their third straight victory on Sunday night in Carolina.
Michael Malia is a contributing intern for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Facebook (Michael Malia) or Twitter @Michael_Malia.
