National Football League

Eagles beat Cowboys to Shaq Leonard in desperate attempt to aid struggling defense

Published Dec. 4, 2023 4:57 p.m. ET

Shaquille Leonard isn't going to fix all of the Philadelphia Eagles' defensive problems. He might not even fix the issues with their linebacking corps. But the Eagles were getting desperate at that position.

So this was one division battle they had to win.

As many around the NFL expected, the Eagles signed three-time All-Pro linebacker Leonard to a one-year deal on Monday afternoon after the 28-year-old chose the Eagles over the Dallas Cowboys, whom he also visited last week. Leonard will almost certainly be in the Eagles' starting lineup when they play the Cowboys in Dallas on Sunday night and might even need to be on the field for most of the game.

That's because the Eagles don't have much of a choice after what was a disastrous performance by their linebackers in particular, and their defense in general, in a humiliating, 42-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Their tackling was awful. Their coverage was terrible.

They needed help. And even if Leonard is a shell of what he once was, he certainly couldn't hurt.

"We still have confidence from the tape that he still can play," said Eagles coach Nick Sirianni. "He's been a high-level player in this league for a very long time. He still has the knack to take the ball away, still has the knack to run and hit the ball carrier, still has the length that he has to make throws hard in the passing lane."

At least they hope he does. How much help Leonard really can provide the Eagles is unclear. The fact that the Indianapolis Colts cut Leonard on Nov. 21, even though they're in the thick of the race for the AFC South title and the AFC playoffs, is probably telling. The 6-foot-2, 230-pounder had become a part-time player for the Colts, who clearly didn't think he had fully recovered from the back surgery that limited him to just three games in 2022.

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And though he passed the Eagles' physical when he visited them last week, multiple NFL sources said there are concerns about Leonard's physical condition. One scout who watched him recently said he doesn't look anything like the player he used to be. Even Sirianni was careful to talk about him as "depth" for his current group.

But anything he can provide still might be an upgrade considering the state of the Eagles' linebacking corps, which they knew wasn't very deep when the season began. They lost Nakobe Dean, their starting middle linebacker, to a foot injury that's likely season-ending. Zach Cunningham, who joined the team in August, missed the 49ers game with an injured hamstring.

And Nicholas Morrow, who was their best linebacker early in the season, has dropped way off lately. He was particularly terrible against the 49ers when he was burned in coverage for six catches for 175 yards, according to Pro Football Focus. That included 151 yards after the catch on plays like the one where he had 49ers Deebo Samuel wrapped up for a short gain, only to let go and watch him take off for a 48-yard touchdown.

Before his back surgery after the 2021 season, Leonard was one of the top linebackers in the NFL. A second-round pick out of South Carolina State, he was the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year and a first-team All-Pro in 2018 when he had 163 tackles and seven sacks. Over his first four seasons in the NFL, he had 15 sacks, three interceptions, 17 forced fumbles and averaged 134 tackles per season. He also made three Pro Bowls and was a second-team All-Pro once and a first-team All-Pro three times.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was the Colts offensive coordinator for the first three years of Leonard's career, so he had a ringside seat to see the kind of impact Leonard can have on a defense — in both games and in practices against Sirianni's offense.

"Oh man, he's got a knack for the football," Sirianni said. "Him in pass coverage, his length and his instinct is really outstanding. And he's got a nose for the ball."

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Back then, he certainly did. But even if Leonard doesn't have the same skills anymore, Sirianni is clearly convinced he can help. He clearly loves Leonard's size, which gives him a disruptive length in the passing lanes that he compared last week to players in "Jim Boeheim's 2-3 zone at Syracuse." And he clearly has experience that could benefit the linebackers Philly has left.

"I just thought you can learn so much from good players," Sirianni said last week. "Just think about how he went about how he attacked the day, and also how he saw the game. That was always a good perspective talking to him and I just had so much respect for him."

Whether Leonard can still command that respect on the field is an open question, but it certainly was worth a shot for an Eagles team trying to regroup from a bad loss and reset itself on a Super Bowl track. They've known for a long time they needed help at linebacker. General manager Howie Roseman tried to acquire one at the trading deadline, according to multiple league sources.

Once they failed to do that, they thought they could get by with what they had, but the 49ers nightmare proved to them they probably couldn't.

"I don't want to make any mistake any about it — I like our linebackers," Sirianni insisted. "I know (Sunday) was a tough day for us. But I still have faith in our linebackers."

Maybe that's true, but Sirianni's faith isn't blind. And he knew there wasn't much help available this late in the season. That's why they had to take their shot and keep Leonard away from the Cowboys. Because whatever he's got left might end up being better than what the Eagles already have.

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.