The Eagles lost another defensive piece who contributed to the Super Bowl run Monday night when linebacker Oren Burks agreed to terms of a two-year contract with the Bengals, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Rapoport reported the deal is worth just $5 million over two years, which is only about double minimum wage for a seven-year veteran like Burks. Minimum wage would be $1.255 million in 2025 and $1.3
million in 2026.
It’s surprising the Eagles lose him over that kind of contract considering he played very well after replacing Nakobe Dean in the playoff opener vs. the Packers and considering that Dean’s injury will likely have been the logical choice to start until he was ready to come back.
In the four playoff games, Burks played 230 defensive snaps and had 25 tackles, three tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, a pass defense and two forced fumbles.
Burks, who turns 30 later this month, was the only experienced linebacker the Eagles had behind Zack
Baun and Dean. He also played 319 special teams during the regular season.
Since the Eagles could have easily matched or surpassed the money the Bengals gave him, it may indicate that they’re happy moving forward with Jeremiah Trotter as the third off-ball linebacker. Roseman has said repeatedly this offseason is about getting younger, and at 22, Trotter is seven years younger than Burks.
Trotter is 22 and as a rookie 5th-round pick he played in all 21 games last year, with 110 defensive snaps and 378 special teams snaps. He had 30 tackles and half a sack in his defensive cameos.
Burks, originally a 3rd-round pick of the Packers,spent four years in Green Bay and two years with the 49ers before signing a one-year deal with the Eagles.On Day 1 of free agency – technically the legal tampering period – the Eagles lost four players from the NFL’s top-ranked defense and Super Bowl championship teams: Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, Isaiah Rodgers and Burks.
Rapoport reported that the Bengals plan to give Burks a chance to compete for a starting spot under defensive coordinator Al Golden, the one-time Temple coach.
With Burks gone, the only off-ball linebackers on the roster behind Baun, Dean and Trotter are Ben VanSumeren, who has played more fullback than linebacker in the NFL, and Dallas Gant, who was an undrafted rookie out of Toledo this past season and played 26 snaps this year – all on special teams.
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