Eagles sign veteran guard from the Bears’ practice squad

The Philadelphia Eagles signed veteran offensive guard Jamon Brown from the Chicago Bears’ practice squad, according to an official announcement from the team. The Eagles had an open roster spot after placing two players on injured reserve earlier today.

Brown, 27, has made 47 career starts in 60 games played. He entered the league as a third-round pick (No. 72 overall) by the then-St. Louis Rams. It was the Los Angeles Rams that waived him in 2018.

Brown was claimed off waivers by the New York Giants, who are perpetually in need of offensive line help. Despite as much, the Giants let Brown walk in free agency to sign with the Atlanta Falcons. Injuries forced him into the starting lineup but he got benched by the end of the 2019 season.

The Falcons released Brown last month and he signed to the Bears’ practice squad now that the NFL has lessened eligibility restrictions. Chicago used one of their four practice squad protections on Brown leading up to Week 1 but Philly swooped in before they could do that again ahead of Week 2. By signing Brown away from a practice squad, his roster spot and salary will be guaranteed for the next three weeks.

It’s interesting to see that the Eagles added yet ANOTHER guard after previously signing Sua Opeta from the practice squad earlier on Tuesday. Philadelphia now has 10 offensive linemen on the 53-man roster: Jason Peters, Isaac Seumalo, Jason Kelce, Nate Herbig, Lane Johnson, Jack Driscoll, Jordan Mailata, Matt Pryor, Brown, and Opeta.

Herbig got the start at right guard in Week 1 but graded 43rd out of 50 offensive guards graded by Pro Football Focus. The Eagles promoting Opeta and signing Brown could indicate Herbig’s on a short leash.

Here’s some more insight on Brown via our friends over at The Falcoholic:

Browns battled an illness (not related to COVID) and then a concussion which has kept him sidelined for most of the last two weeks of training camp. In the meantime, he seems to have fallen far enough behind Carpenter, Matt Gono, and rookie Matt Hennessy in the left guard battle to the point where the team has elected to cut their losses. It’s likely that Gono, the loser of Carpenter/Hennessy, Justin McCray, and maybe Sean Harlow will now be competing for reserve interior linemen gigs.

Brown started nine games in 2019, many at right guard covering for the injured Chris Lindstrom, and posted a mediocre 53.2 overall PFF grade, though that grade was higher than James Carpenter’s. Cutting him next offseason would have resulted in cap savings of $6 million, which would have been a no-brainer, but the team apparently felt it was better to move on now, likely figuring Brown would not have caught up to grab a starting job in Atlanta. We wish him well wherever he lands.