Eagles Attrition Starts with T.J. Edwards

The Mike LB signed a three-year with his hometown Bears

It took all of 16 minutes before the attrition started for the Eagles.

Starting middle linebacker T.J. Edwards has agreed to a three-year deal with the Chicago Bears, according to NFL Media.

Edwards, who entered the league as an undrafted free agent, got $19.5 million with $12M of that guaranteed by the rebuilding Bears, who recently made a splash by sending the No. 1 overall pick in April's draft to Carolina for a king's ransom.

He gets $19.5M over 3 years, source said. $12M guaranteed. A big signing for Chicago, and not the last. https://t.co/HSeLf0z6IB

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 13, 2023

That was a clear indication that Chicago plans to build around third-year quarterback Justin Fields as the leader of their offense. Edwards will slot in as the QB of the defense and will reunite with former Eagles' personnel executive Ian Cunningham, who is now the assistant GM for the Bears.

The deal will not be official until the start of the new league year on Wednesday.

Edwards arrived in Philadelphia as an undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin in 2019 and slowly worked his way up the depth chart, starting four games by the end of his rookie season and becoming a starter during his sophomore campaign.

Edwards really broke out in his fourth season, leading the Eagles in tackles with 159, including 10 for loss, with two sacks, five QB hits, and nine pressures while playing 94% of the defensive snaps and being graded as the sixth-best off-ball linebacker in the NFL by Pro Football Focus.

Edwards' running mate at LB last season, Kyzir White, is also a free agent and the team could look to get him, a more cost-effective option, back to provide some continuity next to second-year player Nakobe Dean, who will be slotted into replace Edwards as Sean Desai takes over the defense from Jonathan Gannon.

The New York Giants, who also have an ex-Eagles personnel executive as an assistant GM in Brandon Brown, were also believed to be interested in Edwards as were Gannon's Arizona Cardinals.

Edwards, a Lake Villa, Illinois native, decided to go home, however.

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen