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The Philadelphia Eagles cut starting linebacker Zach Brown, according to an official announcement from the team.
Wow.
Brown’s release comes days after he made the following comments about Kirk Cousins prior to the Eagles’ Week 6 game against the Minnesota Vikings:
“Cousins, I think every defense is going to want that guy to throw the ball. For me, that’s probably the weakest part of their offense is him. Everything else is good. They’ve got a good running game, probably one of the best in the league. They’ve got real good receivers. You just want them to pass the ball. You want Kirk Cousins to get it in his hands.”
Whether he was motivated by bulletin-board material or not, Cousins went on to make Brown look pretty stupid as he completed 75.9% of his attempts for 333 yards (11.5 average), four touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a 138.4 passer rating in the Vikings’ 38 to 20 win over the Eagles.
After the game, Brown got mad when asked about his comments:
Eagles LB Zach Brown who said Kirk Cousins was “weakest” part of their offense coming into the game did NOT want to talk about the Vikings QB after he threw 4 TDs
— Jeff Skversky 6abc (@JeffSkversky) October 13, 2019
"I'm here to talk about the game. Any other questions besides Kirk Cousins?"@6abc #Eagles pic.twitter.com/8upznOUpcB
Just a clown move.
By cutting Brown, the Eagles could be trying to send a message that they’re not going to tolerate reckless behavior. They also clearly didn’t think he was that good. For what it’s worth, Brown ranks 60th out of 88 linebackers graded by Pro Football Focus this season.
Brown’s release does come at an interesting time because starting middle linebacker Nigel Bradham suffered an ankle injury on Sunday and his status moving forward is unclear. Pederson labeled Bradham as “day-to-day” as the player seeks a second opinion.
The Eagles’ remaining healthy linebackers include Nathan Gerry, Kamu Grugier-Hill, T.J. Edwards, and Duke Riley. Gerry and Grugier-Hill are the only ones with significant experience playing in the Eagles’ defense. Edwards is an undrafted rookie free agent and Riley was acquired via trade a couple weeks ago.
The Eagles now have two open roster spots after previous cutting cornerback Ryan Lewis earlier on Monday. We’ll see what the team does to fill those spots. Maybe Paul Worrilow comes back? The Eagles have worked him out multiple times this season. Alex Singleton could also be promoted from the practice squad.
Brown, meanwhile, should be able to find a landing spot with a new team. He had played 67.92% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps and 21.56% of their special teams snaps before being released.
Brown is the second veteran linebacker to be cut by the Eagles since the season started. The Eagles previously cut L.J. Fort — whom the team gave $1.9 million guaranteed earlier this year — in part to not lose a 2020 fourth-round compensatory pick. The Eagles reportedly gave Brown a deal worth $3 million. Two free agent flops by Howie Roseman.