Apparently, on a day when no Philadelphia sports team was playing, the Eagles decided to go and make a move for themselves. Of course, I was working, and by the time I got back home, I was too tired to write about it, so I'm getting to it right now. Yes, it's a little late, but it's still good.
Yesterday, the Eagles made a move at linebacker, trading a fifth round pick as part of a three team deal to the Denver Broncos, which allowed Denver to send tight end Tony Scheffler and a seventh round pick to Detroit, who then sent former first round pick Ernie Sims to the Eagles. Honestly, I like this move a lot. Sims is a good outside linebacker, and will provide Stewart Bradley with a tackling partner in the linebacking corps this coming season.
That's not to say that Sims is perfect, though. If the Lions are willing to part with him for nothing more than a seventh round pick and a tight end, then clearly he's worn out his welcome there. He also only started 11 games last season due to injuries and has only recorded 2.5 sacks and one interception in his career. With that being said, he's still an improvement over what the Eagles had at linebacker last season. When he's healthy, Sims is a tackling machine, recording over 100 tackles in each of his first three seasons in the league. Sims also has experience at all three linebacker positions, making him someone that the Eagles can plug in at any point. If Bradley isn't back to 100% when the season starts, Sims can play there, or he can take over for Akeem Jordan or whatever player is penciled in to start at the weakside linebacker position right now.
There are some questions about Sims, but he fits in with what the Eagles are doing very well. Linebacker was a huge position of need for this team heading into Thursday's draft, and with Sims now here for just a fifth round pick, the Eagles can focus more on the secondary and defensive line with their earlier picks. I like this trade a lot more than some of the other moves that have been made so far this offseason, but it's clear what the Eagles are doing. They're getting younger very quickly, and stocking up on talented players that are about to enter the primes of their careers. Sims is only 25 years old, and he has four years of experience in the NFL already. He's only won 12 games in those four years, but that's more of a product of the Detroit Lions than anything else. Sims may not be perfect, but compared to what the Eagles had to bring out at linebacker each week last season, he's worlds above what they had. As long as his hamstring injury is fully healed, he's going to be a big part of the defense next year, and he came at a bargain price. I really like this move by the Eagles, and I expect a few more trades to come, either today or tomorrow night as the Birds try and move up in the first round.
CSNPhilly.com: Eagles aquire LB Sims from Detroit
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