The Eagles will start the official new league year with a hole at the linebacker position, as today it was reported by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport that linebacker Jordan Hicks is signing a four-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals.
A $9 Million/year cap hit was not something the Eagles would have been able to afford for Hicks. With his prolonged injury history, the Eagles were likely hoping to retain Hicks on a one-year "prove it deal" or something else short-term. But it seems like Cardinals were at least one team in the NFL that felt that Hicks will be healthy enough to produce the next four-seasons.
Hicks will finish his Eagles career with 43 games played, 254 total tackles, 7 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, 6 fumble recoveries, 5 sacks, 14 QB hits, 12 tackles for loss, and 1 pick-six.
The Eagles linebacker depth now looks like this:
Nigel Bradham
Kamu Grugier-Hill
Nathan Gerry
Paul Worrilow
B.J. Bello
Asantay Brown
Alex Singleton
The Eagles will need to address the linebacker either with a free agent acquisition, or early in April's draft.
