Eagles sign suspended cornerback Isaiah Rodgers

As the Eagles work toward their final 53-man roster for the 2023 NFL season, Howie Roseman is already looking ahead to 2024 with his latest signing: CB Isaiah Rodgers. The cornerback was released by the Colts after being suspended for the whole season by the league for violating the gambling policy.

Rodgers will not be able to join the Eagles until his suspension is lifted following the 2023 season, and his contract will not go into effect until then. Still, it takes a lot of foresight by Roseman to get a versatile player locked in this far in advance.

The CB is coming off his third season in the league, in which he worked his way into the starting lineup and contributed on both defense and special teams. On defense, Rodgers had 34 total tackles, four fumble recoveries and one forced fumble.

But, what’s even more interesting, is his experience as a kick returner. In 2022, Rodgers returned 18 kicks for 452 yards, and averaged 25.1 yards per return — which is actually the lowest of his NFL career, averaging 28.8 and 26.4 yards per return in the years prior. For comparison, Britain Covey averaged 20.6 yards per kick return last season.

Signing suspended players can often be messy and unnecessary, but with Rodgers suffering the consequences of a gambling mistake (and ideally learning from it), he shouldn’t be an issue for the locker room. Signing him now probably means a more team-friendly deal, as well, so there’s low risk, high reward for the Eagles with this one.