Don’t rule out Eagles giving Jordan Hicks a second chance
More than five years have passed since Chip Kelly was the Philadelphia Eagles head coach, and he’s still a sore subject in any conversation that comes up about the Birds in which he’s mentioned. The reasons why are obvious, but every once in a while Chip did something right.
Zach Ertz was a Chip Kelly draft choice. So was Lane Johnson. Philly’s still enjoying the fruit of that slam-dunk idea today. Then, there are guys like Jordan Hicks.
The 84th-overall selection of 2015’s NFL Draft, Hicks looked like a future star early, and he had two huge moments versus one of the three teams that Eagles fans hate the most, the Dallas Cowboys.
In Week 2 of his rookie season, his knockout shot on Tony Romo fractured the Cowboys quarterback’s clavicle and forced a fumble, but everyone who wasn’t already in love with Hicks fell in love with him during a Sunday Night Football game in which he picked off Matt Cassel and didn’t stop running until he was in the end zone 64 yards later.
Then, he got hurt and that ended his rookie season.
He returned in 2016 and played the full 16-game slate, but he got hurt again in 2017, ending his season after seven games. That’s sort of Jordan’s story in Philly. He was special, but he was always dealing with something.
No one would deny his talent though, and you shouldn’t be shocked if he winds up with the Birds again. Don’t expect him to be someone that factors into the roster’s puzzle early though.
Based on the Eagles’ blueprint, a Jordan Hicks reunion isn’t impossible.
Since leaving the City of Brotherly Love, Hicks, once seen as injury-prone, has looked like an entirely different player in Arizona with the Cardinals from a physical standpoint.
In three seasons, he’s appeared in all 49 of the Cardinals’ regular-season games, and he’s started every single one of them. The result? He’s racked up 384 tackles, 5.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, 15 pass breakups, and four interceptions. The Philadelphia Eagles, meanwhile, have had a revolving door at the linebacker position.
On the first day of the legal tampering period, the Eagles satisfied a huge need at the EDGE position by adding a very talented Haason Reddick. There’s still a need at linebacker, and at the time of this story being written and published, the decision has been made not to place a restricted free-agent tender on Alex Singleton.
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We know the Eagles’ blueprint. They like to bring guys back that they already know if there’s a need at a particular position. There isn’t much of a link between Philadelphia and Hicks, other than the fact that some have mentioned in passing that it would have been nice to see the Jordan Hicks we saw in Arizona have some of that same success in Philadelphia.
The new league year hasn’t arrived yet. That happens on March 16th at 4 p.m. EST. That’s when Reddick’s deal becomes official, but despite theories that Philadelphia could address the linebacker position in the coming NFL Draft, no one should be shocked if Jordan Hicks returns to the nest somewhere down the road if his market isn’t as large or as interested as he’d like it to be.