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The Philadelphia Eagles worked out free agent pass rusher Ryan Delaire earlier this week, per Howard Balzer.
Delaire, 25, measures in at 6-4, 265 pounds. He went undrafted in 2015 after playing at Division I FCS Towson University.
The Eagles showed some interest in Delaire leading up to the 2015 NFL Draft. Of course, Philadelphia ran a 3-4 defense back then and Howie Roseman wasn’t in charge of the team’s player personnel department.
Philadelphia Eagles sent two scouts to Towson Pro Day seemed particularly interested in Ryan Delaire
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) April 1, 2015
After signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a free agent rookie, Delaire ended up on the Washington Redskins’ practice squad following final roster cuts. Later in September, he was signed by the Panthers.
Delaire made an instant impact with Carolina, but it didn’t last. More insight from Cat Scratch Reader:
The Panthers signed the DE to their active roster on September 30th. That Sunday, Delaire started his professional career with a bang. In his first career start, Delaire amassed 2 sacks and 5 tackles in the Panthers 37 - 23 victory over the team that cut Delaire just one month prior. The Panthers seemingly found a major diamond in the rough.
Unfortunately that hasn’t been the case so far. Delaire followed that 2 sack performance with 1.5 sacks in his next 14 career games. In the 2016 season, Delaire had more trips to IR (2) than he had sacks (1). This came after a preseason in which Delaire found himself woefully out of position on multiple occasions.
The Eagles won’t be rushing to sign Delaire to their 53-man roster, but he could be an interesting guy to sign to a futures contract. Doesn’t hurt to give him a shot on the 90-man offseason roster since he’s shown a little promise in the past.
Philadelphia is already very deep at defensive end with Brandon Graham, Chris Long, Derek Barnett, Vinny Curry, and Steven Means all signed through at least 2018. The Eagles could bring in Delaire to compete with Means and/or any rookies that the Eagles add this offseason.