New inside linebacker Myles Jack puts trade school on hold for a chance with the Eagles

Inside linebacker Myles Jack arrived in Philadelphia for his workout with the Eagles on Sunday afternoon with the Noah’s Ark of essentials, including two pairs of “drawers,” two pairs of sweats, and two pairs of socks.

He also brought a Bible, and at the end of his workout, he rounded out another pair with an additional book — the Eagles playbook.

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The Eagles signed Jack and fellow inside linebacker Zach Cunningham later that day to one-year deals to bolster the depth chart in the middle of training camp. Coach Nick Sirianni said at the time that the signings were not reflections of the quality of the existing room, which includes Nakobe Dean, Nicholas Morrow, and Christian Elliss. But Sirianni acknowledged that increased competition could only benefit the team in the long run.

For Jack, who was released by the Pittsburgh Steelers in March and had been a free agent since, the opportunity came at the perfect time.

“One week you’re on the couch playing Call of Duty,” Jack said Wednesday after practice. “The next week, you’re playing with the Super Bowl [runners-up].”

Jack, 27, was the Jacksonville Jaguars’ second-round selection (No. 36 overall) in the 2016 draft out of UCLA. Dave Caldwell, now the Eagles’ senior personnel director and adviser to the general manager, was the Jaguars general manager at the time. Jack was a fixture on the 2017 “Sacksonville” defense that fell in the AFC championship game to the New England Patriots, who would go on to lose to the Eagles in Super Bowl LII.

But 2½ years after Jack got paid by the Jaguars in August 2019, inking a four-year, $57 million contract extension with $33 million guaranteed, he got cut. He immediately signed a two-year deal with the Steelers, getting cut once again a year later.

“It’s life, man,” Jack said. “It’s ebbs and flows. One minute, it’s all good. The next minute, you’ve got to go through your lows. And a lot of things I’ve learned is just trusting God, getting back to the basics, working hard, figuring out what my weaknesses are, looking myself in the mirror as a man and realizing what I have to do to improve. I feel like this offseason was really about all that.”

Jack spent the offseason in Arizona working out with Cardinals safety Budda Baker, his former teammate at Bellevue High School in Washington state. Jack said he leaned on Baker to help him get his body and mind back in the right place on the heels of two cuts in the span of a year. As the season drew closer, Jack returned to his home in Jacksonville, where he continued to train in his garage gym in hopes that a team would come calling.

His patience paid off. Less than a week after he bid free agency adieu, Jack has an opportunity to make a push for the Eagles’ initial 53-man roster. Jack practiced with the Eagles for the first time Tuesday, taking reps with the first-team defense. He continued to practice with the first team Wednesday, rotating with Dean, Morrow, and Elliss.

“It’s been fun, man,” Jack said. “I’m just getting out there trying to show them what I can do. Show them I can hit and show them I can learn this playbook as [fast as] physically possible.”

Meanwhile, Cunningham has taken his reps with the second-team defense, which also includes Elliss and Shaun Bradley. Cunningham, 28, was a second-round pick (No. 57) in 2017 by the Houston Texans out of Vanderbilt. Like Jack, Cunningham also got paid in his prime (a four-year, $58 million contract extension with $23.5 million guaranteed in 2020), but he was waived less than a year later.

Cunningham last had a stint with the Tennessee Titans, who claimed him on waivers, but it was cut short when he was placed on injured reserve on Nov. 12, 2022, with an elbow injury. The Titans released him in February with a failed physical designation.

Both Cunningham and Jack worked out together for the Eagles and earned the same outcome.

“Being in the AFC South, we basically knew each other from playing against each other,” Cunningham said. “So that was a crazy deal with both of us coming in at the same time, for sure.”

The two newcomers to the inside linebackers’ room are working to get up to speed with new defensive coordinator Sean Desai’s defense ahead of preseason action, which commences Saturday night when the Eagles visit the Baltimore Ravens. It’s hard work, but Jack is a self-described “hustler,” saying that he would’ve gone to trade school to become an electrician or a plumber had an NFL team never called.

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“I like to work,” Jack said. “I just couldn’t sit at home. I’ve been blessed to make a lot of money. So I could just retire and sit at the house. But I’m too bored. My mind is too much. So I just want to be innovative. I don’t know, if a zombie apocalypse happens, I want to be able to build something or fix something.”

But for now, Plan B is on an indefinite hold, and Jack is optimistic that he can be a part of building something special with the Eagles’ defense this season.

“[I’m] capable of playing football, man,” Jack said. “Being a great linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles. Being the best linebacker I can be. Making plays, making tackles. I’m trying to get this team to a Super Bowl.”