Will Parks is Headed Home to Eagles

Eagles continue to add to the defensive backfield, signing a safety two days after they traded for cornerback Darius Slay
Will Parks is Headed Home to Eagles
Will Parks is Headed Home to Eagles /

Philadelphia native Will Parks is headed home.

The Germantown High School product agreed to a one-year, $1.6 million deal with the Eagles, an NFL source confirmed to SI.com.

Parks, 25, is coming off his rookie deal as a former sixth-round pick by the Denver Broncos out of the University of Arizona.

At 6-foot-1 and 208 pounds, Parks will be brought in to battle Jalen Mills for the opportunity to replace Malcolm Jenkins as Philadelphia's strong safety opposite Rodney McLeod.

Parks, though, has versatility and while his most natural position is box safety, he lined up at both safety spots in Denver, as well as being an extra defensive back in dime packages and a core special-teamer.

A strong safety is what Philadelphia's revamped secondary needs under new position coach Marquand Manuel, however.

Over his first four seasons with the Broncos, Parks started 15 of 62 games and recorded 149 tackles, four interceptions, 13 passes defended, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

After deciding it was time to move on from the 32-year-old Jenkins, the Eagles re-signed McLeod to a two-year deal to play center field and brought back Mills with the intent on moving him to safety. The team also sent third- and fifth-round draft picks to Detroit for Darius Slay then signed the star cornerback to a three-year extension.

The revamped secondary will feature plenty of competition whenever the Eagles hit the field for offseason work with only Slay and McLeod penciled in as certain starters.

Mills will likely have the inside track over Parks at SS, though, due to his history with Jim Schwartz and his familiarity with the Eagles' defensive scheme.

At cornerback, Philadelphia will look at Rasul Douglas and Sidney Jones opposite Slay and Avonte Maddox and Cre'Von LeBlanc will likely battle for the slot duties although Maddox may also get an opportunity outside despite some size deficiencies.

Earlier Saturday the Eagles also signed athletic 26-year-old LB Jatavis Brown to a one-year deal.

Both signings fit general manager Howie Roseman's mandated theme of getting younger this offseason.

John McMullen covers the Eagles for SI.com. You can listen to John every day at 4 ET on ESPN 97.3 in South Jersey and reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen


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John McMullen
JOHN MCMULLEN

John McMullen is a veteran reporter who has covered the NFL for over two decades. The current NFL insider for JAKIB Media, John is the former NFL Editor for The Sports Network where his syndicated column was featured in over 200 outlets including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Miami Herald. He was also the national NFL columnist for Today's Pigskin as well as FanRag Sports. McMullen has covered the Eagles on a daily basis since 2016, first for ESPN South Jersey and now for Eagles Today on SI.com's FanNation. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey and part of 6ABC.com's live postgame show after every Eagles game. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen