Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Eagles sign LB Matt Wilhelm to "replace" Stewart Bradley

It didn't take long for the Eagles to find a replacement linebacker for Stewart Bradley. According to ProFootballTalk, Matt Wilhelm, who last played for the Chargers, signed a 1 year contract with the Eagles. The Chargers had just released Wilhelm, a 6 year pro, before training camp.

Wilhelm is not expected to be a direct replacement for Bradley, nor is he even guaranteed to make the roster. He is a veteran player with some experience, but he has only started 21 games in his NFL career. Wilhelm's best season was back in 2007, when he amassed 97 tackles, 1 sack and 3 interceptions in 14 games. He had since lost his starting job midway through 2008.

This isn't a great signing, but I would expect Wilhelm to be battling with Tank Daniels, Moise Fokou and others for the final linebacker spot on the club. If Wilhelm can prove his worth on special teams, expect him to stick around.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

wow who cares about the battle for the 4th lb spot--whats next is shelden brown gonna be struck by lightning? starting to feel a black cloud forming

allthingsphilly said...

Well, the reason you should care about the 4th LB spot is if another injury happens at LB, that guy is gonna be the starter.

Anonymous said...

this guy was a stud at Ohio State in the bear style defense. With all their wisdom in San Diego, they had Wilhelm running sideline to sideline and dropping 18 yards deep in pass coverage. In the Eagles scheme Wilhelm will make plays blitzing from the inside or from the edge. See Chargers -v- Jets last season first two series. BTW, he hurt Farve on the 3rd play when he brought the heat. Eagles will get a player here.