Talk about taking an unconventional road to the NFL. Linebacker Nicholas Morrow can tell you a story or two about that. He was an offensive lineman in high school – and a backup at that until 12th grade – and wasn't on any major school's radar. Not at all.
Truth be told, he wasn't on anybody's radar, so he ended up playing collegiately at Division III Greenville College in Illinois, having transitioned to the defensive side of the ball and the linebacker position.
And then his talent started to take over. Morrow hit the weights, worked on his speed, and attacked the technique of the game and by the time he was a senior at Greenville, NFL scouts were all over him.
See, you know the deal: If you have talent, the NFL will find you.
And they found Morrow, who eventually signed with the Raiders following the 2017 NFL Draft and not only made the team, he played in all 16 games, with five starts.
The Eagles agreed to terms on a one-year deal with Morrow on Tuesday, understanding that Morrow has gotten better and better and better, with more production, as his NFL career has gone along. He played in 62 games with 29 starts for the Raiders in four seasons and then signed with the Bears for the 2022 season and really blossomed – Morrow started all 17 games and had a team-high 116 total tackles, 83 solos, with 11 tackles for loss playing the weakside position. Morrow was productive, obviously, and he was on the field for every single one of the Bears' 1,086 defensive snaps.
His best game of the season may have come against the Eagles, when Morrow registered 11 total tackles, 9 solos, including one tackle for loss. He's a fast linebacker who has learned to harness that aggressiveness with patience, and at 6-feet, 225 pounds, he's got plenty of size to stay durable and physical.
The Eagles are adding a player on the rise who slipped through the cracks in the first week of free agency and who adds depth to the linebacker room that lost starters T.J. Edwards (Chicago) and Kyzir White (Arizona) this spring. It's not clear where new coordinator Sean Desai plans to play Morrow, but there is certainly going to be some excellent competition from a young group that includes Nakobe Dean, Christian Elliss, and Davion Taylor, and the Eagles will no doubt keep their eyes open to add to the mix at the off-ball position and at MIKE linebacker.
