The Philadelphia Eagles have added a linebacker. That would be former Buccaneer Devin White, who is coming to Philly on a one-year deal worth up to $7.5 million, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
White was the fifth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, and he had an incredible 2020 season, the year Bucs won the Super Bowl, when he had 140 tackles (15 for loss), 9 sacks, and 16 QB hits. He has outstanding speed, and can make plays sideline-to-sideline, but there are questions about his awareness and willingness to do the dirty work. He got benched during the Bucs' run to the playoffs last season, but finished with 83 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 2 INTs, and 6 pass breakups.
White is an undersized linebacker at 6'0, 237, but his best trait as a pro has perhaps been his ability as a blitzer, as he has 23 career sacks. It will be interesting to see if Vic Fangio can get the most of White's unique abilities.
Linebacker was very clearly the Eagles most glaring need as they previously only had Nakobe Dean, Ben VanSumeren, and Brandon Smith on the roster. Dean has only played 225 snaps in his first two NFL seasons, while VanSumeren and Smith are a couple of athletic special teams guys. The Eagles also signed Zack Baun, an edge rusher / off-ball linebacker hybrid who give the team added depth at multiple spots.
Depth chart updated here.
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