As news broke on Sunday evening that the Eagles had reached contract terms with veteran linebacker Stephen Tulloch, there wasn’t much surprise.
Outside or inside the building.
“I knew something was coming,” Jordan Hicks said Monday. “You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand what’s about to happen.
“I’m excited. I want this team to be as good as we possibly can, and I think adding another veteran presence and another linebacker to our corps and having that type of depth and being able to move around and have another aspect to it will help a lot.”
Hicks, 24, is coming off what started as a spectacular rookie season, and ended eight games in because of a torn pec. He’s been penciled in as the starter at middle linebacker all offseason and the team’s signing Tulloch hasn’t changed that.
On Monday, head coach Doug Pederson said the 31-year-old Tulloch will compete with Hicks for the MIKE spot, but Hicks is still the starter for now. The younger of the pair said he’s looking forward to the competition.
“[Competition] pushes everybody,” Hicks said. “It always makes you rise to the occasion and find what you’re made of. I expect that to happen.”
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Hicks had a fantastic start to his NFL career, but Tulloch is obviously more experienced. He’s been in the league since 2006 and has spent six seasons under defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz in Tennessee and Detroit.
The Eagles already have one linebacker — Nigel Bradham — who previously played for Schwartz, but Tulloch will be another veteran voice with knowledge of the defense in the locker room. Hicks thinks Tulloch will fill some of the void left when veteran LB DeMeco Ryans was cut in February. As a whole, the Eagles’ linebacker group is very young.
“It’ll be fun. It’ll be really fun,” Hicks said. “He knows what to expect. And like you said, he’s played for so long. He’s probably been around it all. It’ll be exciting and I’m going to enjoy learning from him.”
It’s unclear exactly what kind of role Tulloch will have with the Eagles. Pederson said Tulloch will compete at middle linebacker but isn’t sure about a possible rotation and said he wants to get Tulloch involved some in special teams.
Tulloch wasn’t even scheduled to arrive to the complex until Monday night, so as of Monday afternoon, the linebackers in the locker room weren’t sure what to expect.
“There could be some changes, for sure,” starting WILL linebacker Mychal Kendricks said. “But I’m not too sure. I don’t even know the guy. But it’s a good thing; I know it’s a good thing. He’s a guy who can come in and only adds value.”
When asked on Monday, Pederson said Hicks has the capability to play one of the other linebacker positions — Hicks played all three in college — but that wasn’t the plan.
It seems possible though, especially after the Eagles reportedly gave Tulloch a contract worth $3 million with $1.75 million guaranteed, that they’ll find a way to get him on the field. Kendricks struggled last season and has said the rotation at linebacker in 2015 didn’t allow him to get in a rhythm (see story).
Would he have a problem if the Tulloch signing means another rotation?
“At least I went through it once,” Kendricks said smiling. “I’m just worried about today. But I’m going to do whatever’s asked of me.”
