No Philadelphia Eagles fan should have anything bad to say about Alex Singleton, but he had to go.
It’s truly impossible not to like Alex Singleton. To a city that idolizes a fictional boxer and a franchise whose fan base purchased the entire world’s supply of dog masks when the ‘underdog’ mantra picked up steam during the Super Bowl run, Singleton has to feel like a real-life ‘Rocky’.
An undrafted rookie free agent acquisition in 2015, Singleton wound up on the Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, and Minnesota Vikings rosters in 2015 before becoming the sixth-overall selection in the 2016 CFL Draft.
A CFL All-Star in 2017 and 2018, Alex won the league’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award in 2017 before his Calgary Stampeders won the Grey Cup to conclude the 2018 CFL season. That’s when the Eagles came knocking on his door.
Alex will always be remembered for his blue-collar work ethic and his heroics during Week 4 of the 2020 NFL season during a Sunday Night Football game versus the San Francisco 49ers. Replacing an injured T.J. Edwards, Singleton picked off a pass by Nick Mullens and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown to help ensure the 25–20 win.
He always played hard, but let’s face it. He went undrafted and played in the CFL for a reason, and the most recent NFL season revealed that there were some chinks in the armor. The Birds moved on. Alex plays for the Denver Broncos now, but Philly is in a much better position at the linebacker position by letting him walk.
The additions of Haason Reddick and Kyzir White were major. Adding Nakobe Dean, a first-round talent in Round 3 of the most recent NFL Draft, was an absolute steal.