Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - The Philadelphia Eagles brought in five
new players during Tuesday's opening of free agency, including three potential
starters to a revamped defense in safety Patrick Chung, cornerback Bradley
Fletcher and nose tackle Isaac Sopoaga.
The Eagles also added former Houston fullback/tight end James Casey and
linebacker Jason Phillips in an active first day.
Chung comes to Philadelphia after a four-year tenure with the New England
Patriots in which he often battled injuries, having missed 12 games over the
past two seasons. A second-round pick in the 2009 draft, the 25-year-old's
best campaign came in 2010, when he amassed 96 tackles, three interceptions
and nine passes defensed.
The Oregon product is also familiar with new Eagles head coach Chip Kelly, who
was the Ducks' offensive coordinator during Chung's final two college seasons.
Fletcher played his first four NFL seasons with St. Louis and started 15 games
for the Rams in 2010, registering 75 tackles, four interceptions and 11 passes
defensed. He served as that team's primarily nickel back last year and came up
with 28 stops, one interception and one sack.
Both Chung and Fletcher should have an opportunity to start in an overhauled
Philadelphia secondary that allowed a league-high 33 touchdown passes in 2012
and parted ways with high-priced cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha earlier on
Tuesday.
Sopoaga, who made 71 starts for San Francisco over the past five seasons, will
likely be the regular nose tackle in Philadelphia's new 3-4 scheme. The 330-
pound run stuffer had spent his entire nine-year career with the 49ers and
produced 27 tackles and one sack for the NFC champions last season.
The versatile Casey posted career highs of 34 catches, 330 receiving yards and
three touchdowns for the AFC South champion Texans last season, and has
compiled 66 receptions totaling 752 yards over his four years in the NFL.
Phillips had 22 tackles and made two starts for Carolina this past season. The
27-year-old broke into the league as a fifth-round draft choice of Baltimore
in 2010.
The Sports Network