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Brad Jones Is a Solid Depth Signing for Philadelphia Eagles

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The Philadelphia Eagles announced today that they have signed former Green Bay Packers inside linebacker Brad Jones to a two-year contract.

Jones was a seventh-round draft pick of the Packers in 2009 out of the University of Colorado-Boulder. The 28-year-old Jones played six seasons with the team, starting 36 games and appearing in 76. He played both inside and outside linebacker positions, undoubtedly one of the major signing points the Eagles liked about him. Jones signed a three-year extension with the Packers in 2013, but soon fell out of favor with the club and barely saw the field last year before his release.

For the Eagles, the inside linebacker position was decimated with injuries last year. Both reserves Najee Goode and Travis Long went down with season-ending injuries. After starter DeMeco Ryans went down with his Achilles injury, Emmanuel Acho and Casey Matthews rotated in and even Marcus Smith II was rotated into the depth chart there as well.

More attention probably would have been given to this situation if the starting secondary didn’t collapse as terribly as it did. Also, fortunately for the Eagles, the defensive line was so good that the linebacker issue didn’t stick out so much. Needless to say, with the group of Goode, Long, Matthews and Acho, there has to be some better and more solid depth. Jones should be perfectly capable of doing that.

The Jones signing is far from the last measure the Eagles will take to solidify the spot, but it’s a good place to start. He’s still young enough to not be near his decline and he’s experienced all across the linebacker corp. I don’t think Ryans will be going anywhere next year, but it’s a solid plan to have some sort of effective depth that isn’t coming off injury themselves. There is some special teams appeal with Jones as well, so anything he can do to make the incredible special teams even better is a plus.

There’s still a need for a future starter at the position, don’t make any mistake about that. But Jones makes the need a little less pressing for a year or two. Signing him is a very good move by the Eagles, but I’m still going to hope I don’t have to see him on the field for an extended amount of time.

Doug Green is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com covering the Philadelphia Eagles and the NFL. Follow him on Twitter @DGreenNFL

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