There were plenty of reasons offensive guard Brandon Brooks decided to come to Philadelphia as a free agent.
The main one was pretty simple though.
The Eagles just wanted him more.
“There were other teams interested, involved,” Brooks said at his introductory press conference at the NovaCare Complex on Friday. “The Texans were trying to keep me there and stuff, but in the grand scheme of things, I felt the most want here. And I wanted to go somewhere where I felt really wanted, where I felt I would fit in good with the guys, fit in good with the scheme. Not that I couldn’t do it there. Obviously, I did it four years. I just felt at this point in my life, this is where I need to be.”
Brooks, 26, spent the first four years of his career with the Texans, but signed a five-year, $40 million deal ($21 million guaranteed), to join the Eagles.
The money certainly played a role, but Brooks said he felt most wanted by the Eagles. Starting Monday, when the brief legal tampering window opened, he said he felt like he was the guy the Eagles wanted.
Meanwhile, plenty of players on the team, specifically Jason Peters, Lane Johnson and Jason Kelce reached out to Brooks to encourage him to come to Philly.
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Brooks is pretty excited about the chance to work with his new offensive line mates.
“I know Lane is one of the best young right tackles in the league,” Brooks said. “I know Kelce has been doing this for a long time, one of the best pulling centers that I’ve ever seen since I’ve been watching the game. I really want to learn from Kelce. He does a lot of things at a high level. Great guy. He was probably the first or second guy that texted me and said we can build and do great things here. I’m gonna have him take me under his wing along with Peters and hopefully help me take my game to the next level.”
One thing that stood out to Kelce when he got a chance to talk to his new teammate on Friday at the NovaCare Complex, was Brooks’ intelligence. Kelce sensed that Brooks just gets it.
Brooks, by all accounts, is a pretty smart guy. He had even been working toward getting his masters degree in business administration, with a focus in finance at the University of Houston. But, for now, Brooks plans on putting his schooling on hold to focus 100 percent on football.
On the field, Brooks will start at right guard between Kelce and Johnson next season, so he won’t have to change positions. Brooks started 44 of 48 possible games in his last three years with the Texans.
In the last few years under head coach Chip Kelly and even before then under former offensive line coach Howard Mudd, the Eagles have been trending toward smaller and more athletic offensive linemen.
Brooks is pretty athletic, but he’s not small. Not by a long shot. Brooks is listed at 6-5, 335 and he’s an incredibly strong guard.
What does head coach Doug Pederson think about Brooks?
“Big, strong, athletic, road grater-type, nasty mentality and demeanor,” Pederson said. “He’s a guy that can get out on the perimeter and run. He’s smart. He has all the things that you look for in a guard that we need right now on this offensive line. He’s a leader and a guy that has a lot of games under his belt. It’s going to be a good fit for our line.”