The Philadelphia Eagles' quest to repeat as Super Bowl champions fell short in 2025, as Nick Sirianni and company were ousted from the playoffs on their home field by the San Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card Round. The Eagles had a lot of the same players as they did on the Super Bowl team, but a couple of key injuries and holes on the roster cost them in the end.
The biggest of those holes was at the second cornerback spot. Quinyon Mitchell became an All-Pro as a shutdown corner on one side, and Cooper DeJean continued to be one of the best nickels in football. However, the other outside corner spot was a weakness all season, and it got picked on repeatedly throughout the season. For the most part, it was either Adoree' Jackson or Kelee Ringo out there for the Eagles, and neither held up very well.
On Tuesday, the Eagles addressed that concern, handing out a one-year, $15 million contract to former Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen. Woolen was an intriguing free agent with a ton of talent, and he celebrated his deal with Philly with an eagle emoji on X, formerly Twitter.
Woolen has had his ups and downs with the Seahawks, and now he is hoping for a fresh start on a one-year flier in Philadelphia with plenty of talent around him. As a rookie in 2022, Woolen led the NFL with six interceptions and was seen as one of the best young corners in football. Since then, however, he has just six interceptions in total and has struggled with penalty issues.
The Eagles are hoping that playing in a loaded secondary under Vic Fangio will help fix some of those issues. Woolen will certainly have his chances to make plays with the ball coming his way, as opposing offenses should be avoiding Mitchell and DeJean as much as possible.
However, taking a gamble on a player with Woolen's talent in free agency is good business for a team like the Eagles that has a lot of talent. The upside is certainly there, and Philadelphia isn't on the hook for any money after 2026 if it doesn't work out.
