Eagles sign former Doug Pederson player
Mar 1, 2022; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson during the NFL Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Philadelphia Eagles are swiping a player away from their ex-head coach.
Veteran tight end Dan Arnold is signing with the Eagles on a one-year deal, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports on Thursday. Arnold had spent the last two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars (including playing under head coach Doug Pederson during the 2022 campaign).
Schefter adds that Philadelphia’s tight end room is now pretty crowded.
Eagles’ TEs now include:
🏈Dallas Goedert
🏈Dan Arnold
🏈Jack Stoll
🏈Tyree Jackson
🏈Grant Calcaterra
🏈Dalton Keene— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 4, 2023
Arnold, 28, has some red-zone skills, catching 31 passes for 438 yards and four touchdowns during the 2020 season with the Arizona Cardinals. That means he will likely only be behind Dallas Goedert (of the aforementioned Eagles tight ends) when it comes to targets. At 6-foot-6 and 240 pounds, Arnold also figures to have a big blocking role for Philadelphia.
Pederson, the former Eagles coach who led them to victory in Super Bowl LII, probably didn’t have much of a need for Arnold, who had only nine total receptions last year, any more. Evan Engram, coming off a career-high 766 receiving yards, is the clear TE1 for the Jaguars, and they just used a second-round draft pick on another tight end (Brenton Strange out of Penn State).
But the Eagles are now the ones who will be taking a shot on Arnold. He becomes the latest addition to their offense after last season’s NFC title.