2008 Free Agents: Safeties

The Eagles could definitely use another safety. Brian Dawkins is nearing the end of his tremendous Eagles career. Injuries slowed him somewhat last year, and you wonder how much he has left in the tank. Dawkins will be back for this year, but a future plan needs to be put in place.

Sean Considine was a disappointment as a starting strong safety. Despite adding 20 lbs of muscle, Sean still had major issues with tackling and playing physical is not something he does. His coverage skills are pretty solid, and to his credit he was improving in certain areas of his game. His second season ending shoulder injury is concerning, and makes you wonder if this will be a reoccurring problem for him. I think fantastic job Quintin Mikell did in Considine’s place will pretty much assure that Sean will not be a starter next year.

Quintin Mikell is extremely valuable for this team. He is not only the special teams captain, but he has been a great backup safety for years now. He is versatile enough to play both free and strong safety, and that is rare to find in the NFL anymore. Due to injury he was forced to start at both positions this year, and did a fine job at it. If he were to be the starter this year, that would be fine with me, because I know he is very capable of playing well.

J.R. Reed is a very interesting story. A 4th round pick from the 2004 draft, Reed entered the NFL as a great kickoff returner. Since then he has dealt with the tragic “fence hoping” injury which caused nerve damage in his leg. He was cut four times, including being cut twice by the Eagles, but he somehow managed to find himself a roster spot with the team again. After several injuries Reed was forced into a starting role against the New England Patriots and played phenomenal. He laid a vicious hit on WR Randy Moss that changed the game. Moss was clearly shaken up, and did not have another catch for the remainder of the game. Reed’s surprisingly great play at safety has most likely saved himself a roster spot on this team.

Bob Sanders is one of the best, if not the best safety in the NFL right now. I knew the Colts would not allow him to leave, and they were able to prevent that by signing him to a long term contract.

Another big name Safety would I really liked was Ken Hamlin. Hamlin was unfortunately franchised by the Cowboys, and is now out of the picture.

One player who has made it to free agency is Gibril Wilson of the New York Giants. I have heard numerous reports that the Eagles are very interested in signing Wilson as soon as free agency starts. The Eagles like his versatility, his age, and the fact that he played well in a system almost identical to theirs(Spagnuolo). Wilson would start immediately at strong safety, and give the Bird’s a plan for when Brian Dawkins retires. This would also allow Quintin Mikell to once again be a very talented backup.

Here is the list of the free agent safeties:

QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | G | C

DE | DT | LB | CB

Free Agent Safeties

Key Restricted Free Agent Safeties