Philadelphia Eagles: Guesses on who stays, leaves during free agency

One of the Philadelphia Eagles’ acquisitions in 2021 is the subject of discussion.

We’ve saved Steven Nelson for the final discussion for obvious reasons. He’s been up and down, but he’s one of the better options and players that the Eagles had on defense this season. He also held down a position that’s still of huge need.

Steven Nelson, cornerback (leaves but could return)

Despite the fact that Steven Nelson was believed to be one of the premier cornerbacks during last year’s free-agency period, no one swooped in and signed him after the Pittsburgh Steelers honored his request to terminate his contract. That is until the Eagles added him by way of a one-year deal almost four months later on July 25th.

Nelson was a mixed bag for Philadelphia but one of the two best cover guys the Eagles had not named Darius Slay (Avonte Maddox was the other).  While Steven may not have worked his way into an extension, arguments can be made for keeping him and letting him walk. For now, the latter scenario seems to be the most realistic.

Philadelphia should explore both free agency and the NFL Draft to land a corner and safety. Once they do that, we can reassess. McLeod and Nelson could still be among the available targets once we move past April’s draft and into May.

Once we arrive there, we’ll see what happens, but it doesn’t seem like, in Nelson’s case that he’ll be signed any faster than he was last season.