Eagles are losing another starting linebacker on the 2022 defense because Kyzir White has signed a two-year deal worth about $11 million with the Arizona Cardinals. That means the Eagles will need to two players to step up and take over as a starting linebackers. Middle linebacker T.J. Edwards has already signed with the Chicago Bears, so now with White leaving you’ve got both of the linebacker positions open.
It’s not a shock. I could see why White would jump on the opportunity to follow Eagles defensive coordinator, now Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon and Birds linebacker coach, now Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rallis to Phoenix. One of the qualities about White is his ability to defend against the pass. He’s an outstanding pass defender, who has a great feel for playing zone or man-to-man.
White is a converted safety, who has a great feel for playing against the passing game. You can see that he’s patient and comfortable against nearly every route combination. He’s not as good against the run, even though I think he’s good and improving each year as a run defender.
I think he fits today’s NFL because his strength is playing against the pass. He is also a good blitzer because he does a great job timing his movements. White knows how to be patient in timing his attack of the line of scrimmage.
So much of the Cardinals future is going to involve Kyler Murray, but signing guys like White are going to help Gannon immensely. Signing white was a good move for them because he knows the details of their alignment and the passing coverages. I could see Gannon making him the defensive signal caller when they play nickel coverages because the know the system.
