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Eagles make substantive move at linebacker, signing former Pro Bowler Zach Brown

The depth chart that seemed lacking after Jordan Hicks left gets a boost.

Redskins linebacker Zach Brown looking to stop Eagles running back LeGarrette Blount (29) during a 2017 game.
Redskins linebacker Zach Brown looking to stop Eagles running back LeGarrette Blount (29) during a 2017 game.Read moreMark Tenally / AP

The Eagles ended up with just five picks in last week’s NFL draft, and didn’t take a linebacker, in what analysts deemed a weak class. This opened them up to criticism, given that the team had lost starting middle linebacker Jordan Hicks to free agency and hadn’t replaced him with anyone possessing Hicks’ credentials.

Howie Roseman made a strong move to shore up the position Friday, with the announcement that the Eagles have signed eight-year veteran linebacker Zach Brown, 29, who fell out of favor in Washington late last season but still finished as Pro Football Focus’s third-ranked middle linebacker. Brown joins the Eagles on a one-year deal for $3 million.

Brown, listed at 6-foot and 250 pounds, was a Tennessee Titans second-round pick in 2012 who made the Pro Bowl after the 2016 season, when he was a Buffalo Bill. He spent 2017 with the Redskins, who last year signed him to a three-year contract worth $24 million. They cut him this spring after being unable to find a suitable trade, saving $5.75 million off their cap.

Brown was credited with nine solo tackles in the Redskins’ season-ending 24-0 home loss to the Eagles last season.

The Eagles’ linebacking depth has been a focal point for fans, but defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz rarely lines up his group in the base 4-3 — quite often, Nigel Bradham and Kamu Grugier-Hill are the only linebackers, and sometimes, in dime packages, it’s only Bradham. It will be interesting to see what Schwartz has in mind for Brown. At the very least, he is a bigger linebacker who can play the middle effectively against the run.