The Philadelphia Eagles should spoil a Terrell Suggs homecoming

After a surprising release from the Arizona Cardinals, the Philadelphia Eagles should spoil a Terrell Suggs homecoming with a weekend waiver claim.

After spending the better part of 14 years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, pass-rushing du jour James Harrison was unceremoniously released midway through a two-year contract extension.

While Harrison didn’t have to wait too long to find another opportunity to suit up for a playoff contender – he signed with the New England Patriots three days later – it was just plain weird to see number 92 facing off against his former team in a pivotal playoff contest with Super Bowl implications.

And in a weird twist of fate, another of the AFC North’s premier pass rushers has become available mid-way through his deal, only this time, he has a chance to return home.

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You see, after spending 16 highly productive years in the Charm City, Suggs signed a one-year, $7 million contract to return to his college home of Arizona, where he spent three years as a member of the Arizona State Sun Devils. However, Suggs’ warm welcome soon turned into a desert mirage.

With his new team’s playoff hopes well out of reach, and a desire to give youngsters an uptick in playing time, Suggs and Kliff Kingsbury‘s club made a ‘mutual’ decision to part ways with just under a month left to play in the 2019 season.

Now subject to waivers, Suggs may find a new home by Monday afternoon, and will in all likelihood be on an NFL roster in time for Week 16 – maybe even back where it all began on a Baltimore Ravens squad primed to return to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2012.

However, if I were Howie Roseman, I’d take supreme pleasure in disrupting what could be a storybook ending.

For how much the Ravens could use an additional pass rusher off the edge, especially one with a decade and a half of experience in a purple and black uniform, the Eagles are just as in need of a veteran rusher – maybe even more so.

Despite having recorded 36 sacks over the first 13 games of the season, including 12 since the bye week, Jim Schwartz‘s front really has consistently struggled to generate reliable pressure and disrupt opposing teams’ offensive game plans. Suggs may have only generated .5 sacks in the same time frame, but his 5.5 on the season would rank second on the Eagles behind only Brandon Graham.

While Vinny Curry played surprisingly well in a pinch against the team that once almost signed him to a lucrative free agent deal, Derek Barnett‘s Week 14 injury highlights just how quickly the Eagles pass rush could collapse with just one more season-ending injury.

Not for nothing, but Suggs can also rush standing up, effectively splitting the difference between Chris Long‘s success in 2018 and what Roseman surely hoped for when he flipped a 2021 fourth rounder to the Cleveland Browns for Genard Avery.

Is another versatile pass rusher and some extra security worth the remaining balance of Suggs’ $7 million deal? You tell me.

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Look, I get it, in the grand scheme of pressing needs for the Philadelphia Eagles, adding another pass rusher has to be a distant… third(?) behind wide receiver and cornerback, but with a desperate need for talent across the board and their postseason future very much up in the air, can the team really afford to let Suggs return to Baltimore? The Patriots didn’t let Harrison pass them by en route to Super Bowl 52.

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