The Eagles cut Christian Elliss as the 2023 season unraveled. His new life with the Patriots has landed the LB back in the Super Bowl.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Christian Elliss was cut from an NFL roster six times in the first two seasons of his career — five times by the Eagles. The last one, on Dec. 6, 2023, stung the most.

“I remember just [being] on the phone with my dad crying,” Elliss said. “I was like, ‘Dad, that’s the one that really broke me.’ Because I thought I was playing well. I knew I had the talent to play, but for whatever reason ... I can’t remember.”

The reasons were complex. The Eagles were reeling and injuries and subpar play at linebacker had forced general manager Howie Roseman to sign veteran Shaquille Leonard. Elliss played mostly on special teams, but he was viewed as the low man at the linebacker position and was waived.

“Howie and who’s the head man over there …,” Elliss said before being reminded that Nick Sirianni was the Eagles’ head coach. “ … and Nick, for whatever reason, they didn’t see me as a piece for them. But luckily Bill did.”

That was Bill Belichick, the former Patriots coach. Elliss was claimed off waivers by New England the next day. And he hasn’t left despite the coaching turnover that went from Belichick to Jerod Mayo to Mike Vrabel since Elliss’ arrival.

Getting cast off by the Eagles may have broken Elliss, but he has put himself back together over the last two-plus years. And he has been made whole into a starting linebacker on a Patriots team that has exceeded expectations and will face the Seattle Seahawks in Sunday’s Super Bowl LX.

Elliss, 27, may still have a chip on his shoulder. He and his wife, Kaysie, had two young children and he wasn’t sure about his future. But he said he now sees the silver lining in his sixth — and last — release.

“Honestly, me going to the Patriots was probably the best thing for me,” Elliss said. “I had vets that showed me the ropes. I had coaches that believed in me and wanted me there. I think New England is the perfect spot for me.”

Roseman probably regretted the decision. He had cut Elliss four times before, only to bring him back on the practice squad. But other NFL teams had about a season’s worth of film on the athletic linebacker, and not all of it as a member of all four special teams corps.

“We saw that he had some traits that we wanted to work with,” Patriots general manager Eliot Wolf said. “He had been productive on special teams for those guys and when he had the opportunity to play on defense, he had been productive, especially in coverage.”

Elliss had actually started on defense for the first time in his career in the game before his release. He struggled in the blowout loss to the 49ers, but he wasn’t the only one. Defensive coordinator Sean Desai’s scheme was like Swiss cheese and he would eventually get demoted.

But Roseman felt he needed to address the linebacker group at that time. He didn’t necessarily have to create a roster spot at that position, but he told Elliss if he cleared waivers, the Eagles would bring him back.

His calculation proved wrong.

“They did tell me that,” Elliss said. “But when I got six teams that wanted to claim me, that affirmed that, yeah, I can play.”

Belichick had him work exclusively with special teams for the last month of the 2023 season. When the legendary coach left the Patriots in the offseason, Elliss had to convince another regime that he was worth keeping.

He made the roster as a backup and special teams contributor. But by Week 5 he started logging significant playing time on defense and became a regular the rest of the way. When Mayo was fired after the 2024 season, Elliss said he wasn’t expecting to return, though.

The Raiders made a play for the free agent. But because Elliss was restricted, the Patriots could match the two-year, $13.5 million offer. Vrabel and Wolf would remake most of New England’s front seven, but Elliss fit their vision and was retained.

“We felt that even though he reached free agency, he was still ascending,” Wolf said. “And he’s really just improved and improved. He’s a great kid. He plays really hard. He’s got some of the traits you can’t teach. He’s super fast. He’s explosive. He’s got great change of direction.”

There were initial struggles playing in a new scheme with new terminology in 2025. Elliss missed eight tackles in the first three games and was benched in the second half of the third game. But the Patriots stuck with him and he steadily made progress.

“I think he took it to heart,” linebackers coach Zak Kuhr said of the benching. “He made some different personal changes with how he was going to view his position and his role. And credit to him and how he went about it.”

It has helped to have a head coach who played the position at a high level. Vrabel was a key cog in Belichick’s early Super Bowl-winning Patriots teams. He mostly played on the outside and would often rush from the edge, but he was open to moving inside to serve team needs.

Elliss said Vrabel has instilled in the Patriots that same unselfish mentality.

“I’ve never had a coach where he’s truly a player’s coach, meaning he holds everyone to the same standard. Not everyone does that in the league,” Elliss said. “Everybody has favorites one way or another. It’s just human nature. But for him, he doesn’t let it show, at least on the field or at least in the building.

“He makes sure everyone’s held to the same standard. No one gets away with anything. If you’re BS-ing in practice, if you’re putting your own self above the team, he never lets that slide.”

Growing up third-oldest of 12 children — seven of whom were adopted — Elliss may have understood the importance of the collective more than most. He also comes from a football family. His father, Luther, played 10 seasons in the NFL, and brothers Kaden, Noah, and Jonah have also played in the league.

Noah spent parts of the 2022 and 2023 seasons on the Eagles as a practice squad defensive tackle. Christian and Jonah, a linebacker for the Broncos, met in the AFC championship game. Their emotional embrace after the game touched many.

Only one could advance to the Super Bowl. Christian will be making his second appearance. He played 24 special teams snaps for the Eagles three years ago. He said he watched and rooted for his old team last year when it avenged the loss to the Chiefs in the first Super Bowl meeting.

Elliss might have flourished in Vic Fangio’s scheme. The Eagles had long undervalued linebackers, but the defensive coordinator has spearheaded an organizational shift with investments made in Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell, for example.

Baun was instrumental in the defensive dominance of Kansas City. But the front four set the tone and harassed quarterback Patrick Mahomes into taking six sacks and committing three turnovers.

“Ball disruption. When you affect the quarterback, when you make him so he can’t set his feet and he’s always on his toes, it’s hard for them to produce,” Elliss said. “And I think the Eagles really did that well.”

Elliss should get opportunities to get after Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold. He already has generated seven pressures in just 18 pass rush attempts this postseason. Two years ago after his release, he was thinking more about survival than the Super Bowl.

“I was cut, I think, six, seven times in my early NFL career,” Elliss said. “And honestly, I remember asking my dad, ‘Dad, is this meant for me? I don’t want to keep getting cut.’ It’s a terrible feeling, especially [because] I had two kids at the time. So that’s definitely hard.

“But I believe trials and tribulations produce endurance, they produce character. And I think it helped me in the long run.”