Should the Eagles pursue Jordan Hicks in free agency?

The Arizona Cardinals are releasing a player that Eagles fans know very well and have fawned after ever since his heartbreaking departure a few years ago. That man is Jordan Hicks and Howie Roseman should be doing all he can to bring back the Texas product.

Jordan Hicks becomes Simba

Jordan Hicks burst onto the scene for the Eagles back in 2015 and tallied 7 interceptions for the Birds in his first two year, learning under DeMeco Ryans. He rapidly became a fan-favorite as one of the few truly great linebackers the team have had in recent times. Hicks had his problems with durability early on, but a 91-tackle season in 2018 saw him play well enough to earn a big contract on the free-agent market.

Simba becomes Mufasa

Hicks then signed a four-year deal worth $36M with $20M guaranteed in Arizona and never looked back. In every season since, he’s posted over 100 tackles and elevated his status as a dominant coverage linebacker with every year that’s passed.

He reduced his 2021 salary from $5M to $2 in a bid to remain in Arizona, but that wouldn’t help him in 2022. The team eventually opted to part ways with him despite one of his best seasons yet, where he posted 116 tackles, 7 TFL, and 4 sacks. This should give him a head start to find a potential new suitor.

For Arizona, the move made sense. They drafted Zaven Collins last year which assumedly upset Hicks and even though he responded with an incredible campaign, the Cards want to get their first-round pick on the field and believe he’s in a position to take over from Hicks.

Simba has become Mufasa, it seems.

Should the Eagles bring jordan Hicks back?

The real question here is whether or not the Eagles should be interested. Linebacker does just so happen to be the teams’ biggest positional need this offseason and they lack any kind of veteran presence. Alex Singleton is now the most experienced man in the room and while it’s great that the front office have invested in low-risk, high-reward players with huge athletic upsides, it became inherently clear that they need a three-down linebacker who can hold the fort while the pass-rush gets home.

Hicks is at the top of his game and a homecoming could be perfect. He’d be a lot cheaper than Bobby Wagner, that’s for sure. The only concern here is that Hicks had his nose put out of joint by the drafting of Zaven Collins and the Eagles have three first-round picks. There is every chance that Hicks wouldn’t be signed to be ’the guy’ as much as he would to simply bridge the gap while his replacement gets ready, and that may be a situation he wants to stay away from.

With that said, it would behoove Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia Eagles to see if they can bring Jordan Hicks back to the City of Brotherly Love given how reliable he is and how desperate the Eagles are for solid linebacker play.

Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire