Eagles Acquire Potential Special Teams Contributor
PHILADELPHIA (973espn.com) — A player-for-player trade on the back-end of the roster has become a staple of Howie Roseman in August and that manifested itself again on Thursday when the Eagles sent second-year defensive tackle Bruce Hector to Arizona for safety Rudy Ford.
Ford, a sixth-round pick out of Auburn in 2017, played in 10 games as a rookie before being shelved with a knee injury and then developed into a solid special-teams player in 2018 with nine tackles in 13 games.
Safety, however, could be the deepest position on the Cards with proven veterans D.J. Swearinger and Budda Baker, along with promising rookies Deionte Thompson and Jalen Thompson.
Hector faced a similar tough numbers game with the Eagles and was unlikely to make the final 53 behind Fletcher Cox, Malik Jackson, Tim Jernigan, Hassan Ridgeway and Treyvon Hester on the depth chart.
Ford still faces an uphill battle to make the 53-man roster in Philadelphia with Malcolm Jenkins, Rodney McLeod, and Andrew Sendejo seemingly secure. Jonathan Cyprien is the leader of the clubhouse for the final spot with Tre Sullivan and Deiondre' Hall also in the mix. The path, however, would be special teams where Ford could contribute as both a coverage player and a return option.
-John McMullen covers the Eagles and the NFL for 973espn.com. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen