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The Philadelphia Eagles are one of 14 teams that have shown interest in free agent cornerback Steven Nelson, according to a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
BGN previously wrote about Nelson as a potential Eagles target after the Pittsburgh Steelers released him back in March:
Nelson’s cut wasn’t motivated by the Steelers thinking he’s a bad player. Pittsburgh had to let him go because they seemingly couldn’t agree on a contract extension that would lower his 2021 cap hit. The Steelers ultimately cleared $8.25 million by moving on from Nelson.
It is true that Nelson didn’t have his best season ever last year. According to Pro Football Reference, Nelson allowed seven touchdowns and a 97.0 passer rating in 2020. But Nelson allowed zero touchdowns and just a 65.8 passer rating in 2019. And a 72.6 passer rating in his final year with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2018.
Still, there’s reason to believe that Nelson still has good football ahead of him. He turned 28 in January and he’s been relatively durable, missing just two games over the last three seasons combined. Nelson brings plenty of experience with 68 starts in 82 games played.
There’s no guarantee that Nelson has interest in playing for the Eagles and it’s possible he’ll be priced out of the Philly’s range. He’s sure to draw some attention now that he’s on the open market. The Eagles should be among the teams gauging his cost.
That Nelson is still available indicates his offers aren’t as lucrative as he’d like them to be. And this report from Fowler, which likely originated from Nelson’s agent, seems like an attempt to drum up a bidding war.
Are the Eagles willing to outbid the competition to land Nelson? It remains to be seen. One thing we can say for sure is that he wouldn’t lack the opportunity for playing time in Philly. The Eagles have a gaping hole at CB2 across from Darius Slay right now. Signing Nelson would give the Eagles an instant starter at that spot.
We’ll see if Philly ends up being the team to land him.