In wake of an unexpected injury (and possible long recovery looming) for Philadelphia Eagles lienbacker Kamu Grugier-Hill, Philly’s signed Asantay Brown.
After some talk that the Philadelphia Eagles may limit the participation of some of their most valuable cogs during the NFL preaseason, some of the question had to be who’d be available to play linebacker during the four preseason games. Enter Asantay Brown.
If the name sounds familiar, it’s because it should. Brown spent some time on Philly’s practice squad a season ago. In a subsequent move, ‘The Birds’ said goodbye tp Alex Brown, a cornerback they picked up off of waivers after the San Francisco 49ers let him go about a week ago.
Here are three things on Asantay brown that you may find interesting.
1. He and Nathan Gerry have one major thing in common.
Much is expected of Nathan Gerry in 2019. he appears to be one of the favorites to make the Eagles roster by quite a few NFL pundits. With Kamu Grugier-Hill‘s injury and no sign of Nigel Bradham yet, Gerry may be looked at to play an increased role in Philly’s defense.
He’s also spent time at safety in his collegiate days while with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He and Philly’s new linebacker, Brown, are alike in that way. Before moving to linebacker for his final two seasons with the Western Michigan Broncos, he played a little safety as well.
That versatility and experience could serve him well in Jim Schwartz’s scheme, where linebackers are expected to spend quite a bit of time in pass coverage.
2. Let’s take a quick look at Philly’s roster now.
This is yet another chapter in Brown’s NFL legacy with the Eagles. He was signed as an undrafted free agent after last year’s selection meeting. He was waived in September, added to the practice squad after that, and signed a future contract after the season.
Unfortunately for him, Philly let him go in May. Now he’s back, and Philly has nine linebackers on the preseason roster. Paul Worrilow is dealing with an injury too, so there are six who are actually able to participate in a team practice: Alex Singleton, Nathan Gerry, L.J. Fort, T.J. Edwards, Zach Brown, and, now, Asantay Brown.
3. Will the stats and everything else translate?
Brown racked up 309 total tackles (185 were solo), 6.5 sacks, six interceptions, six forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries in 47 career games at Western Michigan.
So far, things haven’t translated to the pro level, but he gets another shot now with Philly. Can he finally seize the opportunity now, and find his way onto the team.
He has a huge hill to climb. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.