Report: Eagles “were competitive in discussions” for Marcus Williams

The Philadelphia Eagles made an effort to sign top free agent safety Marcus Williams before he joined the Baltimore Ravens, according to a report from Geoff Mosher.

The Eagles were said to be “competitive in discussions” and “were close” to the five-year, $70 million contract terms he ultimately agreed to.

The ‘[team] almost acquired a really good player!’ reports aren’t really fun for anyone except Danny Ainge. And this is already the second one we’ve seen considering Philly was also reportedly seriously targeting Christian Kirk.

But it’s still worth noting that the Eagles were interested in making a big splash at safety. Missing on Williams means the team might pivot to one of the following remaining options (as of this publish time):

• Jordan Whitehead
• Marcus Maye
• Terrell Edmunds
• Jayron Kearse
• Tyrann Mathieu

Whitehead might be the most realistic since he’s only turning 25 in a few days. The Eagles clearly have interest in finding a long-term solution on the back end.

Maye isn’t an ideal fit since he just turned 29 and he’s coming off injury. But he has a relationship with Eagles defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson and could be had for a one-year trial.

Edmunds and Kearse could be solid, if unspectacular, additions. I could be wrong but I don’t get the sense the Eagles will be adding the Honey Badger.

This much we do know: Philly must do something (or some things) at safety. 2021 starters Anthony Harris and Rodney McLeod are both currently free to discuss terms with other teams. At most, one of them will be back in 2022 and it’s not impossible they’ll both be gone.

And so with Williams off the board, we continue to play the waiting game.