Philadelphia Eagles: 15 best free agent acquisitions of all-time

Signed at 32 years of age, it didn’t seem like defensive end Chris Long was going to do much for the Eagles. That couldn’t have been further from the truth.

The former No. 2 overall pick out of Virginia came into the NFL with some incredibly high expectations. The son of Hall-of-Fame defensive lineman Howie Long, Chris had some big shoes to fill — and he did a phenomenal job.

Long spent eight seasons with the then-St. Louis Rams and registered 54.5 sacks and 247 tackles in that span. However, his final two seasons were marred by injury and led to his departure. After playing for a team that struggled to win, Long signed with the New England Patriots and won his first Super Bowl ring as a rotational pass rusher.

He then joined the Eagles the following season, in the same role. Long proved the injury bug was behind him, as he played 16 games for the second season in a row. He racked up five sacks for Philadelphia, despite starting just one game. His veteran leadership was priceless and Long helped the Eagles win their first-ever Lombardi Trophy.

Long played out the second year of his contract in 2018 and again proved to be a valuable player for Philadelphia. He was credited with 23 tackles and 6.5 sacks, while helping the team fill the void left by second-year player Derek Barnett, who was injured early in the season.

In addition to his work on the field, Long had been a great voice in the community off the field. He has worked to provide water to communities in East Africa and even donated his entire 2017 salary to charity.

Long was also awarded the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year in 2018 for his role in trying to promote literacy, which included him donating four game checks to his “First Quarter for Literacy” foundation.