Eagles
Eagles Land High-Impact Defender in Free Agency
Penn State Great Valley MBA, Penn State Berks Undergrad, Eagle Scout and Vigil Honor, IT Service Manager. I joined Sports Talk Philly in 2017 and root for all the Philly teams (as well as their minor league counter parts).
All posts by Paul BowmanPublished19 Mar 2021
By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor 
It was well known that the Eagles would be bargain hunting during free agency this season with their cap issues, but their latest move might not even be considered a bargain. Instead, it’s a flat out steal.
ESPN’s Adam Shefter hear the news from Anthony Harris’ agent that he will be signing a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The deal is to be worth $5 million, though the cap hit for this season could certainly be lower.
Vikings’ free-agent safety Anthony Harris is signing a one-year, $5 million deal with the Eagles, @DrewJRosenhaus tells ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 19, 2021
Harris only getting $5 million is surprising considering Rudy Ford got $2.1 million APY, Lamarcus Joyner got $4.5 million and Jalen Mills got $6 million.
In 2019, Harris was the top safety in the sport and he was elite the two season preceding that, too. Looking to a guy who had that kind of success and a single down year on a one-year deal is an excellent move.
His down year consisted of seven defensed passes and 104 tackles, but the 2019 season saw him make six interceptions in additional 11 defensed passes, 60 tackles and a fumble recovery.
At worst, Harris will be a league average starter while at best he could either help a surprising team make a playoff run or command significant assets at the trade deadline.
Harris did play under new Eagles defensive coordinator Gannon when Gannon was on Mike Zimmer’s staff.
Harris was listed as the seventh-best free agent on the market by Pro Football Focus, if that matters to you.
With the addition, Rodney McLeod would seem to have an entrenched starter opposite him at the safety position. Those two along with promising rookie K’Von Wallace and Marcus Epps, who was far better than fans give him credit for in 2020, make it a pretty crowded room. That doesn’t even include additional safeties like the recently signed Andrew Adams or a safety that might be drafted in a strong class.
