According to Reuben Frank, the Philadelphia Eagles are signing former Steelers linebacker, L.J Fort.
The 29-year old was signed by the Steelers during the 2014 offseason after spending time with the Browns, Seahawks and Bengals. It took a while for Fort to become a prominent figure on the Steelers defense, but he recorded a career-high 48 tackles, garnering the first two starts of his career, including a dominant week 17 showing against his former team, Cincinnati. Alongside recovering a fumble recovery for a touchdown in week 5, he amassed a career-high 12 tackles in the team’w week 13 loss to the Chargers.
Fort has been a perennial special teamer throughout his career and will bolster Dave Fipp’s renowned unit. He played in 72.5% of the Steelers’ special teams snaps last year, more than any linebacker on the team.
This move is a cheap and cheerful one for Philadelphia, who most recently lost the Jordan Hicks sweepstakes. While he’s arguably earned the right to a starting role, Fort can come in and compete during Training Camp and beyond and could see a rotational role as Kamu Grugier-Hill once did. Will that turn into a starting role eventually? Who knows? But this is a good look for the Birds.
Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports
