Ryan Kerrigan signs a one year deal with the Eagles and what it means for the team (5/17/21)

News came out this morning that longtime defensive end for the Washington Football Team, Ryan Kerrigan signed a one year deal with the Eagles.

Kerrigan has quite the resume, as he is a four time pro bowler, and is the franchise’s all-time sacks leader with 95.5 career sacks to go along with 147 quarterback hits.

Over the years he has wreaked havoc on the Eagles. He has 13.5 career sacks against them, which is tied with the Cowboys for most sacks against any team in the NFL.

After compiling a total of 26 sacks in 2017 and 2018, his production and playing time have dipped. Over the past two seasons, he has averaged a career low in sacks at 5.5 in each of the past two seasons.

Last season, he only played 38% of the the team’s defensive snaps, which is by far the lowest of his career. He’s at the point in his career where he is more of a rotational lineman, and not the player that was the best at constantly wreaking havoc on opposing offensive lines.

While his old age is starting to show, it is still an amazing signing by Howie Roseman. It adds depth to an already stacked defensive end unit that features Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, and Josh Sweat.

The Eagles now have four defensive ends that they could rely upon to sub in and out out of the lineup when need be. Adding Kerrigan makes the defensive line even more of a strength than it was previously.

Barnett has been inconsistent and injury prone throughout his young career, and Sweat has missed plenty of time due to injuries as well, so adding Kerrigan gives the Eagles an insurance policy just in case someone goes down.

The team’s main focus was to add a cornerback, and they could still do that depending on what they decide to do with Zach Ertz in order to add more spending money, but adding more depth to a defensive end unit that is filled with uncertainty is a highly underrated move for the team.