Philadelphia Eagles: Double down on “Temple Tuff” with Matthew Ioannidis

‘Haason Reddick only signed with the Philadelphia Eagles because he’s from here. He grew up in Camden, played college ball at Temple, and wanted to come home.’

Have you heard some iteration of this quasi-quote from a non-Philly fan – or even from a Philly fan – as a way to poo-poo the Eagles’ attractiveness as a free agency destination? If so, you aren’t alone. Over the past few days, fans have watched as big-name free agent after big-name free agent comes off the board, and to make matters worse, more often than not, a story follows closely behind with a report that Howie Roseman put in his own offer only to be outbid by a bigger spender with deeper pockets.

It happened with Christian Kirk, and again with Marcus Williams too, and probably happened with Justin Reid as well though a formal report that has yet to be filed.

Is this thought process apt? Is the City of Brotherly Love a secondary market and the Philadelphia Eagles a “mid” team? I guess we will see soon enough as more free agents come off the board, but do you know what? Haason Reddick isn’t the only Jersey-born, Temple-educated free agent on the open market. No, the Washington Commanders just released another member of the Matt Rhule-era Owls, and needless to say, he could take an already good defensive line over the top.

Matt Ioannidis could put the finishing touch on the Philadelphia Eagles’ D-line.

Matthew Ioannidis can go.

Whether lined up as a 3-4 defensive end or a 4-3 defensive tackle, or even a 4-3 defensive end in big, run-stopping sets if a coordinator is feeling saucy, the pride fo Flemington, New Jersey has made a name for himself not by putting up gaudy sack totals – though he did put up 16 between 2018-19 – but by being a consistent presence upfront. Though he’s always been a better pass rusher than run defender, according to Pro Football Focus, Ioannidis’ overall defensive rating has remained largely consistent since his second professional season, topping out at 71.9 in 2019 and reaching a floor of 65.4 in 2021.

Sidebar: Just for context, only four of the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive linemen – Javon Hargrave, Josh Sweat, Fletcher Cox, and Tarron Jackson finished out 2021 with a defensive rating higher than 65.4.

On April 18th, 2019, Ioannidis signed a three-year, $21 million extension with the now-Washington Commanders based on his breakout 2018 season, and the team was immediately vindicated for its confidence in the collegiate Owl with a career-best 8.5 sack season, but since his actual contract kicked in at the start of the 2020 NFL season, his production hasn’t quite reached his cap hit. Ioannidis tore a bicep three weeks into the 2020 season that landed him on season-ending IR and his game never quite rebounded in 2021, where he only started six of the 16 games he appeared in and recorded 38 tackles, 11 QB hits, and 2.5 sacks over 608 defensive snaps.

With Carson Wentz inbound and more than a few needs across their roster, the Commanders made the business decision to free up $6.8 million versus $1.5 million in dead money to move off of Ioannidis in favor of… well, they did re-sign safety Bobby McCain to a two-year, $11 million deal, that’s something, right?

Assuming some team doesn’t swoop in and sign away Ioannidis on a multi-year deal, the 2016 fifth-round pick will likely have to sign a one-year, prove-it deal to help recoup his value and attack the 2023 free agent market with better numbers on his stat line. Could that come as a member of the Green Bay Packers under one-time Washington defensive coordinator Joe Barry? Certainly, but if the offers are all in the same ballpark, why not pull a Joe Flacco and play some ball close to home? Unless the Eagles go out and draft Jordan Davis if he’s on the board in the first round – which they very much should do if he’s still on the board at 15/16/19 – and even if they do, Ioannidis could be an asset to Jonathan Gannon’s defense both as a rotational defensive tackle behind the starters, or even as a subpackage defensive end both against the run or in a quasi 3-4 front at defensive end.

I don’t know about you, but seeing a front of Hargrave, Cox, and Ioannidis on the inside with Sweat and Reddick lined up wide would intrigue me very much, especially with some corresponding improvements on the backend.

If the Philadelphia Eagles can take a step forward and really solidify the Nick Sirianni era in the City of Brotherly Love, maybe the team will be more attractive to free agents in 2023. The team is expected to have much more money, a few more older contracts will come off of the books, and folks will have a better idea of Jalen Hurts’ floor one way or another. Could that be when the Eagles sign a Pro Bowl-caliber wide receiver, a coverage linebacker, or the next elite cornerback to wriggle their way free from another team? Only time will tell, but if marquee names don’t want to come to Philly, why not see if Matthew Ioannidis, who grew up 55 miles away from the Linc, wants to re-team up with Haason Reddick over the Walt Whitman Bridge?