With the legal tampering period now firmly underway, the Eagles are digging deep into their list of pending free agents and making some tricky decisions. One of the toughest had to surround the future of linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill. However, it looks as though that call has been made.
The Super Bowl 52 champion has posted an emotional goodbye on social media ahead of free agency.
Drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2016 Draft, he would eventually be cut during the team’s final roster decisions that year, leading the Eagles to pick him up and take a chance on the former collegiate Safety.
Playing just one defensive snap in his rookie year, ‘KGH’ made his presence felt on special teams, playing in 42% of snaps. It was in 2017 however that saw his impact soar through the ceiling. Playing in a whopping 75.2% of snaps in Fipps prestigious unit, Grugier-Hill led the Eagles in special teams tackles (and even made a special appearance as an emergency kicker) and saw a total of 85 snaps on defense, registering 22 tackles in the process. He was also named a Pro Bowl alternate.
The development continued into 2018 where KGH led Fipp’s unit in tackles for the second consecutive season and made an eyebrow-raising impact on defense. But in 2019, an injury would hold him to just 10 appearances and 6 starts in a year where the linebacking corps needed him most.
What really didn’t help was the ‘concussion’ saga, where the Hawaii native lied about a concussion in order stay in a game right at the end of the season. Given the Eagles reputation when it comes to injuries, this can’t have gone down well and may well have impacted how the coaches view him.
Grugier-Hill tallied 98 tackles, 11 TFL, 1 INT, and 2 PD as an Eagle.
This move does come as a surprise. After cutting Bradham, the linebacker corps is down to bare bones, with names like Alex Singleton, Nate Gerry, and T.J Edwards being all that remain. Surely this is a sign that help is on the way, but it’s worrying knowing that if history repeats itself, it won’t come from the Draft.
Losing Grugier-Hill is a big hit to the Eagles special teams unit and an even bigger one to a linebacker position now running on empty. if he is indeed walking into free agency, the Eagles had better have a contingency plan in place.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
