When it rains, it pours. Shortly after reports cited that the Eagles signed LB Jatavis Brown, it’s become apparent that the team have acquired the services of former Broncos Safety Will Parks.
The deal is said to be one-year, giving the 25-year old a prove-it contract to bet on himself and earn a big-bag and a long-term deal in the City of Philadelphia, where Parks was raised.
This has been a long time coming. There’s been a mutual interest between the two for a while now and it felt like it would be only a matter of time until a deal was struck – especially after the release of Malcolm Jenkins.
Parks is as versatile as they come. He can play both Safety spots and inside the nickel, standing at 6’1, 218 lbs. In four seasons with the Broncos, Parks has racked up 148 tackles, 4 picks, 13 passes defensed, and 2 forced fumbles.
This immediately gives Jalen Mills some competition at Safety, but it also gives the Eagles some serenity at the position. As we know, Jim Schwartz loves moving guys around and plugging them wherever he sees fit. Sometimes that’s as a blitzer, other time’s it’s as a single-high safety. Cross-training isn’t easy and the Eagles are getting a thoroughbred in having the best of both worlds.
The deal itself is really, really cheap. There’s no questioning that Parks could’ve secured a bigger deal elsewhere, but he wanted to come to Philadelphia.
Parks should still have his best football ahead of him. Seven of his fifteen career starts came last year as he continued to grow in Denver and it’s likely that he will push for a starting role alongside McLeod. With the extra incentive to earn that payday and long-term security, I think we may see a new remote-controlled missile in this defense.
Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
