Eagles
Eagles Swap Linebackers On Roster
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 BowmanPublished27 Aug 2019
By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor 
The Eagles made another roster move on Monday, making a switch at linebacker.
The Eagles added linebacker Chris Worley just last week, but Howie Roseman does not like to sit still and is always making moves.
After moving on from veteran Paul Worrilow earlier this week prior to his signing with the Ravens and subsequent retirement, the Eagles lacked some veterans in the linebacker room that is filled with a lot of young guys.
The Eagles addressed this by releasing Asantay Brown and replacing him with Hayes Pullard.
Roster Move: #Eagles have signed LB Hayes Pullard and waived LB Asantay Brown.#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/OhRiSZeSs2
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 27, 2019
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Brown was brought in earlier in the offseason, but he was perhaps the only linebacker that seemed to have no real shot at a roster spot, making him somewhat of an easy decision to move on from.
Pullard enters having played in 46 games for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Chargers over the past two seasons, registering 114 tackles, an interception, a fumble recovery and a defended pass in that time.
Pullard has only 12 starts in that span, serving mostly as a backup.
Originally a seventh-round pick of the Browns, Pullard landed on the Cleveland practice squad for just a month before the Jaguars picked him up.
Most recently, Pullard had been with the Arizona Cardinals until his release on Sunday.
The Eagles are in a pretty good spot with young linebackers like Alex Singleton and TJ Edwards (who was the No. 10 rookie so far this preseason, according to Pro Football Focus) available, but the team’s veterans behind the two incumbent starters come down to Zach Brown, LF Fort and Worley. It would not be a surprise to see Howie Roseman hang onto Pullard and use him to replace someone like LJ Fort, who has been mediocre in training camp and the preseason games but would cost the Eagles a fourth-round pick if he is kept on the roster.
There may only be a week left before the season starts, but Pullard has the smarts necessary to adapt and learn a new defensive scheme. It was those same smarts that took him from being an undrafted player to a late draft pick when he penned an open letter to each of the NFL franchises. The article also demonstrates how he could be a positive player for the Birds to have in their locker room.
It is certainly late in camp, but Howie Roseman kept DJ Alexander around all last season and he didn’t get to Philadelphia until the regular season started. There should be no reason to count Pullard out of a roster spot.
