Eagles should steer clear of Myles Jack during free-agency frenzy

There are always a few surprises whenever the new NFL year begins and the rumors of where the free agents at the top of the food chain mind wind up begin to swirl. There are also the unexpected roster moves that no one saw coming and the expected ‘should the Philadelphia Eagles make a move?’ dialogue.

Teams can’t officially put pen to paper with their new signees until after 4 p.m. EST on Wednesday, March 16th. We’re all waiting on that introductory press conference with Haason Reddick, but with there still being needs all over the roster, particularly at linebacker, the name Bobby Wagner has been tossed around Eagles circles.

No one would be disappointed with seeing him trade one Birds nest for another, but if that doesn’t happen, the natural train of thought would be to ask what Plan B would wind up being. Philadelphia could select one of the next draft class’s better prospects, but there are also other free agents available.

Throw Myles Jack‘s name in that category.

Let’s end the rumors before they begin. The Eagles don’t need Myles Jack.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ decision to release Jack right before the new league year isn’t totally shocking. It wasn’t totally expected either. Credit ESPN’s Adam Schefter for breaking the news.

The Jags leading tackler over the 2021 campaign, Jack tallied 108 total stops, but calling him a game-wrecker would be a bit of a stretch. Moving on from him puts $4.8 million in dead money on Jacksonville’s payroll, but it also cleans up just under $8.5 million the Jags could use to look elsewhere and help with paying out the $229.5 million they negotiated on March 14th.

As mentioned, the Eagles have a need at the linebacker position, but they’d be better suited to pursue Wagner or look at landing Devin Lloyd or Nakobe Dean in the next selection meeting. Jack is talented, but that hasn’t translated to brilliant play in pass coverage (he tallied neither interception nor pass deflection in 2021) or wins by the Jags over the past two seasons.

The Jags, for the second year in a row, select at the first-overall selection, and even though this may not be the deepest form of analysis, snagging Jacksonville’s castoffs doesn’t feel like the best route to success for an Eagles team looking to build off of a playoff appearance to close the 2021-2022 season.