Mills ready to lead secondary to safety
PHILADELPHIA » Already in the middle of November, the Eagles’ season at a turning point, Jim Schwartz finally could sense some relief.
A team built to dominate, the 2019 Eagles never had that opportunity. There were numerous reasons. The secondary, or better the lack of one, was at the top.
At one point or another, and often in large groups, Ronald Darby, Sidney Jones, Cre’Von LeBlanc, Avonte Maddox and Jalen Mills or more defensive backs were injured. Weekly, or so it seemed, a new defensive back was brought in for temp work. There were injuries elsewhere, enough to suppress the preseason feeling that offseason confidence. But the secondary was just never right.
So it was, as the Eagles completed a practice in preparation for the New England Patriots, Schwartz was bordering on exasperation.
“Getting Jalen Mills back, getting Darby back and Avonte back, even having Cre’Von on the horizon somewhere, somewhere hopefully soon,” the defensive coordinator said, “it does give you a little bit more flexibility and be able to match-up different ways.”
It was a mouthful. And it was telling. So were the results, with the Eagles last season eventually surrendering 27 passing touchdowns. In some cases, the troubles reflected a general lack of talent. But another year of the Eagles being made to try limitless combinations could not happen again. For that, Howie Roseman did what he has always done best: He acted.
While Roseman was criticized for not doing enough to help the Eagles’ offense in the early freeagent period, he would stabilize that secondary. He would send a thirdround and a fifth-round draft choice to Detroit for Darius Slay, 29, and then would make the threetime Pro Bowl performer football’s highest-paid cornerback. He’d trust Maddox at the other corner spot. He’d acquire veteran corner Nickell Robey-Coleman and Germantownraised safety Will Parks in free agency. Providing support for it all, Roseman would sign Steelers freeagent Javon Hargrave, a pass-rushing interior defensive lineman.
Then, he would make the one move that, if successful, would make it all work. He would allow aging Malcolm Jenkins to become a free agent, opening the strong safety spot for Jalen Mills. And Mills, a former cornerback, would back out of free agency and accept the challenge.
Risky?
A little.
But he insists he is ready.
“As far as the market goes, as a player, I have always bet on myself,” Mills said Tuesday, on a conference call with football writers. “And I always will. For me, it will be a new position in the NFL. But I played it some in college. So that’s me, betting on myself one more time. And
I am up for the challenge.”
Jenkins is 32 and was a leader, one able to hold a locker room together, a value beyond his on-field contributions. The New Orleans Saints, for whom he’d previously played five years, were convinced enough of that to re-sign him quickly, going for $32 million over four years.
But that would have been him, too, in the middle of that leaky Eagles secondary last season. And Mills is seven years younger with a 6-1, 190-pound frame not dissimilar to Jenkins, and skill suggesting strong-safety success.
“As much as you want to show gratitude for past performance and loyalty, you also have to have one eye on the future,” Roseman said. “You see Hall of Fame players leaving their teams, quarterbacks, tight ends. You can’t sign everyone.
“For us, we had to make some tough decisions.”
The Slay and Hargrave decisions were easy. It’s what the Eagles do. They stalk, and usually acquire, talent. And while a little surprising, the Millsfor-Jenkins switch should work, particularly as the NFL moves to a more position-less style of secondary construction.
“We had a game plan this past year where I was playing corner, I was in nickel, I was in dime,” Mills said. “I was playing against running backs. I was playing against tight ends. I did that against the Patriots, and it was probably one of my best games of the year coming back from the injury.
“I showed it in battle. And also, I know how Schwartz has used Malcolm in my four years here. He was a dynamic player, making plays all over the field. So them coming to be about being ‘positionless’ and being able to take on that role, I had already shown I could do that.”
He will have to remain healthy. A victim of a troublesome foot injury believed to be of the Lisfranc variety, Mills has played just 17 total regular-season games in the last two seasons. And while he will forever be appreciated for knocking down a pass to Julio Jones to preserve the Eagles’ postseason victory over the Atlanta Falcons during the 2018 world championship run, he has not always been consistent.
But that will be him this season, taking over a special position Eagles history, following in a loose line that has included franchise legends Jenkins, Brian Dawkins, Andre Waters and others.
“In our secondary, we have a lot of guys in a lot of positions,” Mills said. “But I think we are going to be really, really fast. We have guys who made big plays for other teams. And that is really, really good when you talk about going deep into the playoffs.”
The Eagles were said to be ready to make that run last year. The secondary, often injured and always out of sorts, was a major reason why they failed.
So, they will try again. “I feel this team,” Mills said, “has the chemistry to win another Super Bowl.”
With some easy decisions, and with at least one courageous one, Howie Roseman made that more realistic.