Vinny Curry, Eagles reportedly agree to terms

The Philadelphia Eagles are re-signing veteran defensive end Vinny Curry, according to a report from NFL insider Mike Garafolo. Curry’s one-year contract is reportedly worth up to $2 million with $1.3 million fully guaranteed.

There was previously some talk that Curry might return but it’s been some time since we’ve heard anything about that. Derrick Gunn reports Curry was weighing offers between the Eagles and the Cleveland Browns (Note that former Eagles executive Andrew Berry is now Cleveland’s general manager.)

Here’s what we wrote about Curry back in January:

Review: The Eagles re-signed Curry after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers cut him last year. The team was high on his outlook; Howie Roseman said the following about Curry in early September: “Vinny looks better than he did two years ago [when he started in 2017].” That optimism looked foolish as Curry went on to have just one sack in his first 11 games. The Curry re-signing was looking like just another example of the Eagles’ nostalgia over-reliance. But then Curry turned it on down the stretch with four sacks in his final six games. Curry actually finished the 2019 season ranked 10th out of 124 players in PFF’s pass rush productivity stat.

Outlook: The Eagles really need to get younger, as Roseman stated, and re-signing Curry, who turns 32 this summer, doesn’t help to accomplish that. But the team might look to bring him back on the cheap as a rotational piece.

Indeed, Curry could be a good role player for the Eagles if he picks up where he left off from late last year. He figures to be the team’s third or fourth defensive end behind obvious starters Brandon Graham and Derek Barnett. Curry played more defensive snaps than Josh Sweat (38.5% vs. 34.5%) in 2019 but we might see the latter go ahead this year.

Curry’s return isn’t good news for the Eagles’ young edge rushers such as Genard Avery, Joe Ostman, Shareef Miller, and Casey Toohill. The Eagles will probably keep six defensive ends at most ... and maybe only five. With the Graham, Barnett, Currry, and Sweat quartet locked in, the other guys are fighting for one or two spots on the 53-man roster. And they’re not going to be in the actual playing rotation (barring injury). Kind of disappointing to spend two fourth-round picks on Miller and Avery and not have them contribute at all.

As you know, Curry was originally selected by Philadelphia in the second-round of the 2012 NFL Draft. The Neptune, New Jersey native grew up as a big Eagles fan and was a starter for the franchise’s first-ever Super Bowl winner, which is pretty dang cool.

Welcome back, Vinny.