Eagles sign defensive tackle who had 3.5 sacks last year originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Eagles added an experienced defensive line depth piece Thursday in 26-year-old Kentavius Street, who had 3 ½ sacks for the Saints last year, the team announced Thursday.
The Eagles confirmed Thursday they'd agreed to a deal with Street, who was originally a 4th-round pick of the 49ers in 2018 – four picks after Avonte Maddox and two picks before Josh Sweat.
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It's a one-year deal.
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Street fits into the type of players Howie Roseman has added this year. All are in that 25- to 27-year-old range and aren’t stars but have modest salaries and short contracts with a chance to contribute in a specific role.
Street spent his first three seasons with the 49ers, starting four games and playing in 35. After playing sparingly as a rookie after suffering a torn ACL at his pro day, he played 381 and 351 snaps the next two years as a rotational player. He had 3.0 sacks in 2021 but was not tendered a contract by the 49ers and became an unrestricted free agent after just three seasons. He signed with the Saints and had a career-high 518 snaps and had a career-high 3 ½ sacks.
Although he has played some defensive end, at 6-2, 285 pounds, he’s likely to move into the interior line rotation with the Eagles, who lost three veteran defensive tackles from last year’s team – Javon Hargrave, Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph.
Other than Jordan Davis, Fletcher Cox and Milton Williams, the only other interior linemen on the roster before this addition were Marlon Tuipulotu and Marvin Wilson.
Without knowing exactly how new defensive coordinator Sean Desai will run things, the Eagles philosophically like to rotate several defensive linemen both inside and outside. Last year, none of the interior linemen played 65 percent of the snaps but seven played at least 175.
And with Cox now 32, there’s a good chance his snaps will drop from 64 percent in a similar rotation. Street still has to make the roster, but it’s possible to see him in a role where he plays something like 20 to 25 snaps per game.
The Eagles have now signed seven outside free agents since the start of free agency, five of them on defense – safeties Terrell Edmunds and Justin Evans, cornerback Greedy Williams, linebacker Nick Morrow and Street. Offensive additions are quarterback Marcus Mariota and running back Rashaad Penny.
They’ve also re-signed Jason Kelce, Brandon Graham, James Bradberry, Cox and Boston Scott, restructured Darius Slay and extended Lane Johnson.
They’ve lost 10 players from the 2022 NFC Champions to other teams – Hargrave (49ers), T.J. Edwards (Bears), Marcus Epps (Raiders), Kyzir White (Cards), Miles Sanders (Panthers), Isaac Seumalo (Steelers), C.J. Gardner-Johnson (Lions), Gardner Minshew (Colts), Andre Dillard (Titans) and Zach Pascal (Cards).