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Nicholas Morrow doesn’t consider himself an old player by any stretch of the imagination. His eyes got wide and an awkward smile pursed his lips when a reporter pointed out that he was now the elder statesman in the middle of the Philadelphia Eagles’ defense. It was a crazy thought to process for a guy who just turned 27 years old in July.
Morrow officially inked a one-year deal to play linebacker in Philly. He’ll be competing for a starting spot at training camp, hopefully forming a formidable one-two tandem alongside Nakobe Dean if all goes according to plan. In due time. For now, prior to taking his first snap in midnight green, Morrow wanted to set the record straight about his age and send a message to his new teammates.
“That sounds so weird to say, I’m 27,” Morrow told reporters. “I’m excited to be part of the group, regardless of age there are always good players no matter where you are. It’s the NFL. So just being a part of the group and getting to know those guys and competing and proving myself to them and earning their respect, and going from there.”
The Eagles are short on experience at the position after losing Kyzir White and T.J. Edwards in free agency. The average age in the linebackers’ room was a not-so-ripe 24 years old before Morrow’s arrival. Now, a guy with only 46 starts under his belt, will be forced into a mentoring role of sorts.
“I’m grateful. It’s been a journey, it happened so fast,” Morrow said. “I think one thing for sure is there is no substitute for work, you got to work hard no matter what year you’re in, and so I’m excited for that.”
Morrow Ready for Whatever Role Thrown at Him
The Eagles’ unofficial depth chart has Morrow slotted in as the starting WILL linebacker. The 6-foot, 225-pounder played every single snap (1,086 in total) there for the Chicago Bears last season. He made a team-leading 116 tackles while picking up one interception and two pass breakups in 17 regular-season games.
While Morrow earned a rather pedestrian 54.0 overall grade (No. 64 out of 81 off-the-ball linebackers, via Pro Football Focus), his coverage skills were a big part of what the Bears did defensively. On paper, the 27-year-old seems like the perfect depth piece for an Eagles team looking to stabilize their linebackers without breaking the bank.
“I’m excited to be here,” Morrow said. “The culture, the tradition, obviously you see so many great players when you walk through the halls.”
Morrow revealed that he’s already talked scheme with new linebackers coach D.J. Eliot. He compared it favorably to what Paul Guenther ran when he played for him on the Raiders. They haven’t defined his role, but it’ll be a big one. When asked to describe his style of play, Morrow brought up the way he competes on every single play.
“One, I like to get to the ball so I’m going to compete to get to the ball on every single play, that’s the biggest thing,” Morrow said. “And, obviously, whatever my assignment is, I always want to be assignment sound but the biggest thing is just competing snap to snap.”
Learning Patience After Season-Ending Injury
Patience was the biggest takeaway for Morrow following an unfortunate training camp accident. The former Raider missed the entire 2021 season after turning his ankle during a tackling drill at a joint practice. Las Vegas would go on to finish 10-7 that year and qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2016. All Morrow could do was watch them from his couch. He literally couldn’t walk.
“I learned patience. It was really hard to watch that year,” Morrow said. “Just to put it in perspective, we went 8-8 [in 2020], and then the next year we were 10-7 and in the playoffs, and that was the first time the Raiders were in the playoffs since 2016, which is the year before I got in the league. So … I got to go through the days of us not being a good team and then missed the chance to get into the playoffs.”
He’s 100% healthy now after turning in a career year last season in Chicago. The biggest thing he wanted to show everyone was that he could make it through a full season, running around and making plays on his reconstructed ankle. He survived 17 games in 2022 and proved he could be a three-down linebacker.
Morrow said: “I think I showed I’m someone who is durable, right? That was a big question, can I finish a whole season? Can I be a three-down player? I was a three-down player so I’m excited about those things but also there are things to work on but the biggest thing is getting in here and working as hard as I possibly can and showing I love the game of football.”
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