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Linebacker T.J. Edwards signed a three-year, $19.5 million contract with the Chicago Bears in March of 2023, which turned out to be one of the better free agency moves of the offseason.
Edwards, who spent his first four years with the Philadelphia Eagles, wanted to return to Philly in free agency after the conclusion of the team’s 2022 season. Obviously, that didn’t happen and now, we may know why.
According to former Eagles tight end Clay Harbor, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman didn’t make any contact whatsoever with Edwards last offseason.
“Per a source Howie never even offered T.J. Edwards a contract when he wanted to stay in Philly,” Harbor wrote on X on January 18. “No extension talk no contract when he was a free agent. Definitely came back to bite them.”
T.J. Edwards Had Excellent 2023 Campaign for Chicago Bears
Edwards was a tackling machine for the Bears this past season. He finished seventh in the NFL in total tackles during the regular season. His 155 stops were just three fewer than first-team All-Pro Roquan Smith’s 158.
Edwards had several statistical career highs with Chicago in 2023, including sacks (2.5), QB hits (8), fumble recoveries (2) and interceptions (3). He was also durable and reliable, starting all 17 games for Chicago while playing 1,042 snaps.
Considering he’s still only 27 and is getting paid $6.5 million per season, the Bears got a bargain in Edwards.
The Eagles signed veteran linebackers Nicholas Morrow and Zach Cunningham to one-year deals. Both were serviceable at times; Morrow finished with 95 tackles, while Cunningham had 85. Neither had an interception, though, and it was glaring how much Philly missed Edwards in coverage, particularly as the season wore on.
Why Didn’t Howie Roseman at Least Call T.J. Edwards?
A fourth-round pick for the Eagles in 2010, Harbor spent his first three seasons in Philly, playing in 39 games (18 starts). Now serving as an NFL analyst and commentator, Harbor is also a native of Illinois and a life-long Bears fan, so he’s plugged-in on the Bears beat.
While Harbor didn’t report why Roseman never reached out to Edwards, the Eagles GM did have some telling comments in a March 2023 media session at the NFL scouting combine.
“I think just obviously we took a little bit of a different tactic this year,” Roseman said about not offering many extensions during and immediately after the 2022 season, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “Usually, we like to sign guys early and sign guys during the season. And because of how hot we started, how well we did, and how many free agents we had, we thought it would create a different dynamic if we started to pick one guy and not another guy.”
Roseman said that the Eagles’ hot start in 2022 (they were 13-1 before finishing the year at 14-3) kept the team from making too many changes, but that may have cost them this season.
Based on Roseman’s comments last March, he knew that was a possibility.
“We understood that could cost us in the end, but we felt like it was worthwhile because of the opportunity to potentially win a championship. Unfortunately, we came up short,” he added.
Philadelphia’s loss at LB wound up being Chicago’s gain.
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