Philadelphia needs to add to their pass rush rotation.
Brandon Graham suffering a season-ending (and potentially career-ending?) triceps injury during the Philadelphia Eagles’ win over the Los Angeles Rams is pretty devastating. He’s legitimately been one of their best defenders this year, so, he’s not going to be easily replaced.
But the show must go on. And the Eagles are currently looking pretty light at edge rusher with BG done for the year, Josh Sweat getting banged up against the Rams, and Bryce Huff recently going on injured reserve. The Eagles currently have two healthy edge rushers: Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt.
And so the team is going to need to make a roster move (or multiple) to address this position. Perhaps it’ll be as simple as putting BG on injured reserve and signing Tarron Jackson to the roster. We’ll get more into the Eagles’ internal options later.
For now, here are some of the top free agent edge rusher options. It’s obviously not the most intriguing list but one can’t expect to find great options available in late November.
1) Jason Pierre-Paul
Wouldn’t it be something if the Eagles replaced Graham’s spot on the roster with JPP?! Once upon a time, there was thought that the Eagles should’ve drafted the latter instead of the former. I’d say the Eagles are ultimately pretty happy with the career that Graham has had for them.
JPP turns 36 in January. He’s younger than Graham, who turned 36 in April earlier this year. And he’s reportedly interested in playing this season:
Now that #NFL trade deadline has passed, expect teams looking for a veteran pass rusher to explore Jason Pierre-Paul option. Per sources, JPP is in great shape and ready to come in and contribute. Has 94.5 career sacks, played last season for #Dolphins
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) November 6, 2024
JPP played for Vic Fangio on the Miami Dolphins last year. Of course, he only saw five defensive snaps in two games before getting cut.
JPP did have three sacks and and five TFLs for the Baltimore Ravens in 2022. Maybe he’s still got something left in the tank? But maybe not.
2) Melvin Ingram
Ingram, 35, also overlapped with Fangio in Miami last year. He played 95 of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps, logging 1.5 sacks and one TFL.
Nick Sirianni also has some level of familiarity with Ingram. They overlapped on the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers together from 2013 through 2017.
3) Justin Houston
Houston, who turns 36 in January, played seven games for the Carolina Panthers in 2023. He had half of a sack and two TFLs before requesting his release.
Houston then signed with Fangio’s Dolphins just days before their playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs. He played 22 defensive snaps in Miami’s loss, logging one solo tackle and no other stats.
4) Bruce Irvin
Irvin, who turned 37 earlier this month, signed the Dolphins on the same day that Houston did earlier this year. He only played 12 defensive snaps and did not log a stat in Miami’s playoff loss.
5) Rasheem Green
Since we’ve only suggested older guys to this point, let’s take a look at a younger option. Green, a 2018 third-round pick (No. 79 overall), is only 27 years old. He’s been a solid rotational edge rusher averaging 3.2 sacks per season (19 in 86 total games played).
Green spent time in training camp with the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason before getting cut in mid-August. Not a great sign that he couldn’t make the Jags … though they do have quality edge rusher talent.
6) Genard Avery
Long-time BGN readers know I wouldn’t be a big fan of this one! But might be worth noting that Avery — whom the Eagles acquired prior to the 2019 trade deadline — was waived by the Indianapolis Colts this weekend. The Eagles could try to put a claim in on him.
Avery, 29, has been limited to just 74 defensive snaps in three years since last playing for the Eagles in 2021. He’s a poor man’s Bryce Huff.
7) Kemoko Turay
Turay didn’t quite pan out as a second-round pick (No. 52 overall) with the Colts, producing 12 sacks in 38 games before Indy let him walk in free agency. Turay landed on the San Francisco 49ers, where he only played 42 snaps in 2022. Turay failed to stick with the Atlanta Falcons in 2023. He was placed on injured reserve by the Panthers and later waived from IR in 2024.
Turay signed with the UFL last month and their season doesn’t begin until March, so, maybe he’s not expecting to be ready to play this year. His injury status isn’t perfectly clear.
But Turay did overlap with Sirianni in Indy from 2018 through 2020, so, we’re mentioning the 29-year-old here.
8) Takk McKinley
Not super exciting but McKinley, the No. 26 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, is available to be signed away from the New York Jets’ practice squad. He has half of a sack and one TFL in 130 defensive snaps played for NYJ this season.
The Eagles poaching McKinley would guarantee his roster spot and salary for at least three weeks. They might not want to go with that kind of commitment.
So, what should the Eagles do?
If Fangio is intrigued by a veteran edge rusher, go for it and give him what he wants. That player might not be able to play a ton right away. The Eagles could look to start out someone like that on the practice squad while the aforementioned Tarron Jackson gets the first crack at a job.
Again, there aren’t a lot of amazing options.
