The Eagles snatched their first win in over a month on Sunday against the Saints, but they suffered a devastating loss in their secondary.
On Monday, Doug Pederson announced safety Rodney McLeod will be lost for the season after tearing his ACL during Sunday’s game.
McLeod has been the best player in the Eagles secondary this season. He’s allowed a passer rating of just 47.3 when targeted, sixth lowest in the NFL. No receiver has caught a TD on him this season, and he’s recorded one interception to go along with five pass breakups.
McLeod has also been a standout tackler in 2020. He’s second on the team in total tackles with 66, and he’s had three tackles for loss. Not to mention he’s also tallied two fumble recoveries on the year, with one being a scoop and score.
Not only will McLeod’s stellar play be missed, but his leadership on and off the field is arguably just as big of a loss for this team. He’s the one in the middle of every pre-game huddle and he’s the one making all of the calls on the back end of the defense.
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It’ll be interesting to see how Jim Schwartz goes about filling this vacancy. He may lean towards Marcus Epps because of his experience level, but most fans would probably prefer rookie K’Von Wallace to step into that role.
Wallace is most likely going to be one of the starting safeties here next year, unless Howie Roseman decides to re-sign Jalen Mills, which seems like a longshot at this point. The Clemson product clearly has some upside, and it would be nice to get him some starting experience before being the fulltime starter in 2021.
McLeod is often overlooked, but he’s been a very solid safety for this team ever since he signed here prior to the 2016 season. Hopefully, his recovery goes smoothly and he’s ready to get back on the field at the start of next season.
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