Underdog Cameron Malveaux Still Seeking Permanent NFL Home

The well-traveled DE is on his ninth team in five years, but will likely play his third straight game with the Eagles on Saturday night

Those who love football will do just about anything to keep their dream of playing at the highest level alive, and the Eagles certainly have their share of those kinds of players.

Alex Singleton survived being released six times and a stint in the Canadian Football League. Now, he’s on the brink of leading the team in tackles for a second straight season, sitting at 130 after posting 120 tackles in 2020.

Greg Ward was released six times as he transitioned from college quarterback to wide receiver. Now, he’s made nine touchdown catches the past two seasons combined.

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A little perseverance can go a long way.

The Eagles’ Cameron Malveaux has proven that, and maybe he will be the next one to survive then thrive like Singleton and Ward and so many others across the NFL before him.

The defensive end has, in his words, “the craziest underdog story.”

You be the judge:

Malveaux, who grew up in Beaumont, Texas, arrived at the University of Houston as a two-star recruit, standing 6-5 and weighing 205 pounds. He grew to 6-6 and added weight, all the way up to his current 265.

In 52 games at Houston, where he was teammates with Ward, he made 81 tackles, 17 for loss, and four sacks. Not good enough to get drafted.

He signed as an undrafted free agent of the Miami Dolphins in 2017. They cut him three times in two years.

So began his tour of NFL facilities. Eight of them.

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The Eagles are his ninth team.

Along the way, he saw some playing time. 

He played in 15 games for three of those teams, collecting 19 tackles and two sacks along the way. 

He has played in the last two for the Eagles and there’s a very good chance he plays in his third Saturday night when the Eagles will likely rest some key players against the Dallas Cowboys.

“I think the main thing was just trying to stay resilient,” said Malveaux on Thursday. “I’ve had to stay through a lot of practices, doing a lot of extra work when I’m not going to play, so I feel I had to stay mentally tough from that standpoint.

"I’m thankful for that journey, as far as is it made me tough, it made me very mentally strong. I was able to deal with a lot of things, just wait my time and be patient. I’m thankful for that process as long as it has been, but it made me who I am.”

Malveaux, who is still just 27, called himself a late bloomer.

What kept him going?

“I have people counting me,” he said. “I have people that look up to me. I have a family back at home, a little brother that plays football. I have to set that example for him. It’s who I am. I’m just a hard worker. 

"Whenever I tunnel vision or focus on something, I never give up on it. I think it was just part of me being who I am more than a choice of if I’m going to do this or not.”

Malveaux has been out of football at the start of the season each of the past two years. The Browns brought him onto the practice squad last year, elevated him twice, including a game against the Eagles on Nov. 22 in which he forced a fumble in eight snaps.

On Aug. 31, he was waived by Cleveland.

The Eagles called a short time later and brought him in for a tryout. He had gotten to know current Eagles senior defensive assistant Jeremiah Washburn when the two overlapped in Miami.

Cameron Malveaux with the Cardinals, one of nine different teams he's been with since entering the league in 2017 / USA Today

“Had a good workout,” said Malveaux. “I thought I did, but they sent me back home. I was like, man, guess I have to get back in that weight room and get stronger and faster and keep going. They ended up calling me back a week later to sign me, so I don’t really know how that worked out, but I’m glad it did. I’m just happy to be a Philadelphia Eagle.”

The Eagles signed Malveaux to their practice squad on Sept. 29 but stayed there until he was a COVID replacement in Week 16. He played 24 snaps then got elevated again last week against Washington, but, in a tighter game, he played just five snaps.

Still, Malveaux said the Eagles have made him feel he belongs.

“I was talking to Jordan (Mailata) earlier and he was telling me how we’ve been going at it, iron sharpens iron, we’ve been going at it every single day, just battling,” he said. “He’s been a great help for me. Coach Wash has been good, Coach Rock, and I had the whole D-line.

“They encouraged me to still come in every day and working with those guys is just so fun to go out there every day with some really good guys. I think that made the process easier also, just coming in with dudes that care about you, and you care about them, and we have one mission and that’s to win.”

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How long Malveaux sticks around in Philadelphia is unclear, but they are thin at defensive end, so there could be a futures contract when the season ends and, perhaps, he is still in town next summer, hoping to turn his underdog role into something more permanent.

“I’ve always kind of had that underdog, put that guy to the side type deal, but I just kept working,” he said. “Like I said, I’m thankful for that process, because it really made me who I am. I feel like there’s nothing that I can’t do now being the position I have been in and not getting the opportunities I’ve had.

“So, I’m thankful for everything. I’m going to continue to work hard and do everything I can to keep elevating myself. So, I felt like the Eagles gave me a shot, and I feel like the Eagles are a great organization to keep that train going for me.”

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.