The Eagles released safety Will Parks on Tuesday, ending a short-lived homecoming that never really worked to plan.
While some fans might be frustrated that Parks never really got much of a chance, there could be a silver lining with five games left in the 2020 season.
Maybe we’ll see some more of K’Von Wallace.
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The Eagles drafted the Clemson safety in the fourth round this spring but he has been used sparingly all season. He has played just 53 snaps (7%) on defense this year.
“It does give more opportunities to K'Von Wallace, it gives more opportunities to [Marcus Epps], both guys that have done a good job in limited roles for us this year,” defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. “So we're excited about that. We're excited about all the young players, even guys like Grayland Arnold, Elijah Riley stepped up and played good snaps for us when he was active. I think we're in a good spot with a lot of our young safeties and seeing some good vet play also.”
As the Eagles waived Parks on Tuesday, they also promoted Arnold to the active roster. So it seems like Wallace, Epps and Arnold are the three players who have the most to gain with the absence of Parks.
But let’s also not pretend that there is a ton of playing time to divide either. Parks played just 10 defensive snaps on Monday night and just 114 overall in six games.
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And it’s not like Schwartz is going to take Mills or McLeod off the field. McLeod has played at a fairly high level and although Mills has had an up and down season, Schwartz on Wednesday said the Green Goblin had an “outstanding” game against the Seahawks.
So we’re really talking about playing time as the third safety. It’s worth noting that the Eagles have seen 11 personnel (3 WRs) just 54% of their defensive snaps, which is 30th in the NFL. So the Eagles have actually matched bigger personnel groupings with their base defense more and more.
But still, it would be nice to see more Wallace in these last five games.
In his last five games, Wallace has played just six defensive snaps. And that came after he played 40 snaps in two weeks against the 49ers and the Steelers. In a very limited role, he has shown some promise.
The Eagles are in a position where McLeod is under contract through the 2021 season but Mills is going to be a free agent after this year. They should try to find out if Wallace is a legitimate long-term option at a position that has a very up-in-the-air future.
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