National Football League

Eagles sign Phillips, Williams

Published Mar. 14, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

Peter Schrager

The Philadelphia Eagles signed two veteran defensive backs to help shore up their ailing secondary on Thursday.

Former New York Giants safety Kenny Phillips and former Baltimore Ravens cornerback Cary Williams both inked deals. Phillips signed a one-year contract, while the deal with Williams is a three-year deal. The Eagles announced the signings on their teams’ Twitter feed.

Phillips, a former first round pick for the New York Giants, played in just seven games in 2012 due to knee injuries, but has been a prominent part of the Giants defense since being selected out of Miami in 2008. Cary Williams stepped up as a starter on the Ravens Super Bowl team when Lardarius Webb went down with an injury, and thus was rewarded handsomely with a three-year, $17 million deal, including $10.5 million guaranteed, from the Eagles.

Williams marks another departure from a Super Bowl winning Ravens defensive unit. He joins Ray Lewis, Paul Kruger, Dannell Ellerbe, and most likely free agent safety Ed Reed as 2012 starters who will not be back in 2013.

The Eagles struggled against the pass in 2012, and both starting cornerbacks—Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Nnamdi Asomugha—were not re-signed.