Philadelphia will be looking for new defensive tackle depth.
Hassan Ridgeway will not be returning to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The 27-year-old defensive tackle is instead joining the San Francisco 49ers. They reportedly signed him to a one-year, $2.5 million contract with $1 million guaranteed.
Ridgeway’s departure is hardly surprising. We previously wrote that the Eagles should look to move on from him.
REVIEW: Ridgeway largely served as the Eagles’ fourth defensive tackle. He offered some pass rush production but he struggled in run defense; Pro Football Focus had him as their third-worst run defender in the entire league.
OUTLOOK: Ridgeway is a free agent ahead of his age 28 season. To his credit, he played in every game in 2021 after previously missing 34 combined games in the previous three seasons. But one healthy season shouldn’t totally erase questions about his durability. And even if it did, there’s the issue of him struggling against the run. Thus, there’s no real reason to be in a rush to re-sign Ridgeway. They should be able to revisit bringing him back on a veteran minimum deal later in the offseason if they fail to add talent to the position in free agency and/or the draft.
So, that last part didn’t end up being true; Ridgeway was in higher demand than expected. But that’s OK.
The Eagles should be able to find some more defensive tackle depth in free agency and/or the 2022 NFL Draft. They currently have the following players under contract at that position: Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Milton Williams, Marlon Tuipulotu, Marvin Wilson, and Renell Wren. Cox has been the subject of trade rumors, of course, so his status is up in the air.
Ridgeway is the first Eagles 2022 free agent to leave Philly. They have 10 other players who officially entered the market on Wednesday afternoon, plus Nate Herbig being available to be signed to a restricted free agent offer sheet.
If you were hoping Ridgeway’s contract counted towards the Eagles’ compensatory pick formula, well, Jimmy Kempski say it likely will not.