How have the Philadelphia Eagles not signed Jake Ryan?
The Philadelphia Eagles haven’t had a linebacker record 100 or more tackles in a season since 2013.
They’ve come close, both Nigel Bradham and Jordan Hicks narrowly missed the mark in 2017 when they recorded 97 and 91 combined tackles respectively, but to find a certified tackling machine on the second level of the Birds’ defense, one has to go all the way back to Mufasa himself, DeMeco Ryans, who amassed 102 solos (127 overall) as the Birds’ interior thumper.
But hey, maybe that’s by design.
More from Philadelphia Eagles
- 4 Eagles on the Bubble Who Have Clinched Their 53-Man Roster Spots
- Best Pennsylvania Sportsbook Promos: Win $650 GUARANTEED Bonus PLUS $100 off NFL Sunday Ticket
- 3 Punters the Eagles Must Target to Replace Arryn Siposs
- Cowboys Trey Lance Trade Proves How Screwed They Are With Dak Prescott
- Devon Allen Took Britain Covey’s Job on Eagles
I mean think about it, since Jim Schwartz took over defensive coordinator duties in 2016, the Eagles really haven’t used their linebackers as initiators in either the run game or as a pass rusher, instead, awarding that task to the front four. This has allowed the team’s linebackers to read and react, play more like defensive backs than defensive ends, and ultimately serve a less crucial role regardless of down and distance.
There’s a reason why Howie Roseman reportedly refuses to invest more than a mid-round pick in the position despite clamoring from fans the world over to add a marquee name at the position like Patrick Queen or Anthony Barr. There’s a reason the Eagles keep taking shots at buy-low, athletic linebackers like L.J. Fort and Jatavis Brown: Their production is more or less interchangeable in the Eagles’ limited linebacking role(s).
However, if a run thumping middle linebacker with an eye for dropping bodies in the middle of the field becomes available, the Eagles would have to be at least a little interested, right? I mean the Eagles did kick it with Zach Brown for half a season last fall before the once-lauded coverage linebacker completely fell apart around the Minnesota game.
Well, there is a player who fits that bill and somehow, no one is talking about him, like, at all: Jake Ryan.
(Probably) named after the romantic foil of Molly Ringwald’s Sam Baker in Sixteen Candles, Ryan parlayed a hot and hurt career at Michigan into a fourth-round draft grade in the 2015 NFL Draft, where he was ultimately selected by the Green Bay Packers 129th overall. From 2016-17, Ryan looked like a prototypical NFC North middle linebacker, recording 80-plus tackles in each season while serving as the perfect thunder to then-will linebacker Blake Martinez’s lightning.
From 2013-17, it was truly the best of times to be named Jake Ryan but just like at Michigan, injuries eventually caught up to the former Wolverine. Ryan missed the entirety of the 2018 season with a torn ACL and unfortunately, that injury lingered into 2019, where Ryan was set to play for the Jacksonville Jaguars on a two-year, $7 million deal.
Okay, technically he did play for the Jaguars last fall, but after being activated off of IR in time for Week 12, Ryan suffered a back injury in Week 13 that ended his season before it really had a chance to make an impact on the defensive side of the ball. He played 35 defensive snaps and didn’t record a single tackle, sack, or pass breakup.
Ryan then signed with the Baltimore Ravens in free agency on a one-year, $845,000 deal this spring but was released after the team selected Patrick Queen and Malik Harrison in the first and third round respectively.
Since then, Ryan has remained unsigned and seldom even a hot-button free agent at that; an NFL afterthought at the not-too-old age of 28.
Now to be fair, Ryan isn’t the prototypical Jim Schwartz linebacker. He’s an average coverage player, an even averager athlete (4.65 40), and pretty much a non-factor as a blitzer (not that that matters). If Ryan were to sign on the dotted line, he’d likely be a base-package player or utilized as a strongside linebacker against bigger offensive fronts. But do you know who else that sounds like? None other than everyone’s favorite ‘second season breakout candidate’ T.J. Edwards. Both played at Big 10 schools, both are ‘football quicker’ than fast, and even recorded an identical 0-0 record in national championships in college (sorry).
Despite being slightly more athletically limited than even Ryan, Edwards is a deceptively instinctual coverage linebacker, who compares favorably to Titans ‘backer Jayon Brown. His 10 interceptions in college are nine more than Ryan recorded, and his snaps-to-tackles ratio of 4/1 is even better than the former Wolverine’s 20/3 ratio.
If you have to pick one, a crazy as it would have sounded a year ago, you’d kind of have to pick Edwards, right? But fortunately, the Eagles don’t have to pick. In 2019, Ryan was supposed to play off-ball linebacker – Sam specifically – next to UCLA legend Myles Jack and now-out-of-the-leaguer Telvin Smith. That obviously didn’t happen, but clearly the Jaguars didn’t have an issue with it. Neither did the Ravens, who signed Ryan to play next to, fittingly enough, L.J. Fort. With only one starter, Nathan Gerry, effectively locked in as a starter next fall, Edwards and Ryan could fill out that trio going into the fall, and potentially grow together into the 2021 season, when Gerry is set to hit free agency.
And on a purely historical note, how rich would it be for the Eagles to take a prematurely released linebacker and transform him into a viable contributor to their defensive front? It worked in Baltimore with Fort, why not return the favor? Ryan has almost twice as many tackles as Fort in the NFL (213 vs. 120) and he’s done so in 32 fewer games. There’s a lot to work with there.
If the Philadelphia Eagles are going to sign another linebacker to compete for a roster spot this fall, it will probably be Nigel Bradham. He has more experience in Jim Schwartz’s scheme that pretty much any other player in the NFL and was only really waived to save money. However, if the Eagles want to take things a different route and opt to give T.J. Edwards a little competition on the interior, Jake Ryan is an intriguing option who could probably be had on a veteran minimum deal. The last time I checked, the Eagles have historically had success with linebackers named Ryan(s) in the past.