Philadelphia Eagles: Signing Hakeem Butler is a step in the right direction

The Philadelphia Eagles have signed WR Hakeem Butler to play tight end.

When it was revealed that Dallas Goedert had suffered a broken ankle, fans of the Philadelphia Eagles were quick to slam on the panic button. Goedert had been the team’s leading receiver through the first two weeks of the season, and the Eagles had very little in terms of TE depth on the roster. Josh Perkins is likely out for the season due to injury, and the front office foolishly let standout UDFA TE Noah Togiai go prior to Week 1.

I actually had a whole story idea drummed up on how the Eagles could use a guy like Togiai right about now, but had to pivot due to Howie Roseman making some noise on the practice squad market (thanks a lot Howie).

Officially announced Tuesday afternoon, it was revealed that the Philadelphia Eagles would be signing the Cardinals 2019 fourth-round pick, Hakeem Butler, to their active roster but converting him to play tight end. Standing at 6-5 and 227lbs, it’s not completely unreasonable to assume he could be productive at the position. Butler struggled to make an impact in Arizona playing WR, so maybe a position change is exactly what he needed to reignite his career.

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*Butler was signed off the Carolina Panthers practice squad*

As much fun as it is to dream up wild scenarios of Butler being the Eagles version of Darren Waller, I’m actually far less interested in any sort of actual scheme fit. Instead, I think this move signals a front office finally committing to a new style of football. One positioned around youth and potential, as opposed to past production and hypothetical playbook knowledge.

In the past, the Eagles have relied heavily on older players who “knew the system” to come in and help out during emergencies. Just last year, when the Eagles experienced injuries to their RB and WR rooms, they were quick to bring back Jordan Matthews and Jay Ajayi. They were the least creative moves possible in that scenario, and they ultimately blew up in the Eagles’ faces. Both were off the roster in a few weeks, and the team was left scrounging around their practice squad instead.

Even guys like Corey Clement, Jalen Mills, and Richard Rodgers are examples of a front office really struggling to “let go” and explore other options. Playbook knowledge and fit are important, but at some point simply targeting the most talented players available yields the better results.

The odds of Butler coming in and making some wild new impact as the team’s TE2 is pretty slim. In fact, I would guess Richard Rodgers out-snaps him in this week’s upcoming game with the 49ers. However, at the very least, it shows Roseman’s ability to branch out and get creative with some of his roster decisions. With the team projected to be $70-$90 million over the salary cap next season, they desperately need to find some cheap “diamond in the rough” type players.

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At 0-2-1, the Philadelphia Eagles are quickly steering themselves towards a complete rebuild in the near future. A lot of the names you’ve been accustomed to seeing on the roster the last few seasons won’t be here anymore, and Roseman will have to find ways to replace each and every one of them. Signing Butler to play TE is a sneaky good move, and should hopefully kickstart another couple low-risk/high-reward type signings.

After all, the Eagles are winless, how much worse could it possibly get?

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