Eagles Officially Add Former Patriots Safety to Practice Squad

A.J. Howard

Getty Free agent safety A.J. Howard reportedly worked out for the Eagles Monday after being cut from the Ravens and Patriots practice squads.

The Philadelphia Eagles reportedly brought in former Patriots safety A.J. Howard ahead of Sunday’s game. It’s a sneaky move considering they are playing New England this week.

The move was first reported by NFL Insider Adam Caplan. Howard spent last year on the Patriots’ practice squad and received a Super Bowl ring from the team. The Patriots cut him on Aug. 30 before he went to the Ravens’ practice squad for a quick cup of coffee. Howard has also played for the New York Giants and the Arizona Cardinals since going undrafted in 2018.

UPDATE: The Eagles have added Howard to their practice squad and cut tight end Scott Orndoff, according to Brandon Lee Gowton.

While the Eagles do need depth at the safety position, the potential acquisition smells like a way for Philadelphia to get a competitive advantage. Howard may be able to share some deep, dark New England secrets with his new team.

On Tuesday, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick talked about Howard’s skills on the field. He didn’t sound overly concerned about the 23-year-old leaking the gameplan. He has never played in a regular-season game but did see action in three preseason games, primarily as a special-teams player for the Patriots.

“He was on our practice squad,” Belichick told reporters. “Played strong and free safety for us. Played in the kicking game. Smart kid. Hard-working kid.”


Bill Belichick Responds to Tom Brady’s Comments

Bill Belichick is a man of very few works as evidenced by a quick 20-minute conference call with Philly reporters. The Patriots head coach did touch on a variety of topics, including a succinct assessment of his preparation for the Eagles. The underlying message: he’s done talking about Super Bowl LII.

“I think we talked about that game at length, ad nauseum,” Belichick said. “That game was a long time ago. We’ll get ready for this game we’ll see how it goes.”

When asked specifically if he re-watched the game tape from the Super Bowl in this week’s preparation, Belichick ducked the question by saying: “We’ve seen a lot of film on the Eagles.”

Belichick also commented on Tom Brady’s recent comments that he still isn’t over that stinging loss from two years ago. His coach seemed to feel the same way, although it didn’t seem to be something keeping him up late at night.

“I think that’s the way any competitor feels about any game,” Belichick said. “There are games from 1975 that I’m not really over.”


Patriots Betting Favorites Versus Eagles

The Patriots opened the week as betting favorites over the Eagles. New England is a 3.5-point favorite and the over-under is set at 45.5, according to BetOnline. The home team — Philadelphia in this case — usually gets three points out of the gate, so Vegas feels pretty strongly that New England wins Sunday’s non-conference showdown.

Believe it or not, the Eagles own the overall advantage in the all-time series at 8-6-0, per Football Database. Of course, the most recent win came in Super Bowl LII when Philadelphia won a thriller 41-33 in Minneapolis.

The Eagles also beat the Patriots 35-28 in a game played in New England back in 2015. The last time these two teams met in the City of Brotherly Love was 2011 when the Patriots won 38-20.