In something of a surprise development less than eight hours before the start of the 2019 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles agreed to a one-year contract with defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan.
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Jernigan missed 13 games in 2018 as a result of a mysterious non-football back injury, and in an extremely obvious decision, his 2019 option for $13 million was not picked up by the team. However, Jim Schwartz has repeatedly stated that he loves the energy Jernigan brings to the defense. Money details have not yet been made available, but they won't be anywhere remotely close to the neighborhood of $13 million.
Not including guys who were signed to futures contracts, the Eagles depth at defensive tackle now looks something like this:
| 1 | 2 | ||
| DT | Fletcher Cox | Treyvon Hester | |
| DT | Malik Jackson | Timmy Jernigan | Bruce Hector |
To be determined what Jernigan's health is like, but he bolsters depth at defensive tackle. Perhaps Jernigan's presence makes the Eagles more willing to select, ohhhh, say, DT Jeffery Simmons, a blue chip prospect, but one who will likely not be able to play in 2019? We'll see...
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