Rumor: Philadelphia Eagles Interested in Veteran Free Agent ILB?

Amongst the extensive draft coverage (only 1 day away!), a small Eagles free agency rumor has emerged.

Adam Caplan recently mentioned that the Eagles are interested in a back-up veteran free agent ILB. According to Tommy Lawlor (Iggles Blitz), Caplan mentioned this nugget on Eagles Live.

Later on Twitter, Caplan was directly questioned about the rumor and had the following to say:

@eaglesnut: After draft. Veteran. Stay tuned.

— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) April 24, 2013

A quick look at the free agent ILB market results in some "big names" like Karlos Dansby (who DC Bill Davis coached in AZ) and Brian Urlacher (old!)... but those don't seem like the type of guys that the Eagles would be targeting as back-ups. Those guys are older and more likely to desire a starting job. Lower-tier ILBs would make more sense.

Assuming the Eagles run some version of the 3-4, the current ILB personnel includes veteran DeMeco Ryans and second year player Mychael Kendricks. Backing them up are newly signed Jason Phillips, along with returning players Casey Matthews and Jamar Chaney. None of these options, especially in the case of Chaney and Matthews, are particularly inspiring. The Eagles could easily look to add competition here.

There's no reason to question the validity of the report because Caplan is good with his Eagles sources. The timing is curious though since the draft is very imminent. Maybe this rumor reveals Eagles are looking to add a ILB somewhere in the draft but plan to sign this unnamed veteran ILB if their draft plan falls through.

Whatever the situation may be, the key takeaway from this rumor is that Eagles aren't satisfied with their ILB depth. The roster spots of Chaney and Matthews are looking less and less secure as the Eagles look to add more competition.