Eagles make up for losing Kenneth Gainwell by signing former Packers RB in NFL free agency
The Philadelphia Eagles have made their first NFL free agency signing. According to NBC Sports' Dave Zangaro, the Eagles are signing former Green Bay Packers running back A.J. Dillon to a one-year deal. "The Eagles are signing RB AJ Dillon (6-0, 247) to a one-year deal, a league source confirms. Dillon is a big back […]
The Philadelphia Eagles have made their first NFL free agency signing.
According to NBC Sports' Dave Zangaro, the Eagles are signing former Green Bay Packers running back A.J. Dillon to a one-year deal.
"The Eagles are signing RB AJ Dillon (6-0, 247) to a one-year deal, a league source confirms. Dillon is a big back who missed all of 2024 with a neck injury," Zangaro reports.
The move comes after Philly lost backup running back Kenneth Gainwell to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday.
Here's everything A to Z Sports' Packers expert Wendell Ferreira had to say about Dillion:
Dillon had a tough 2024 season with a serious neck injury, but he’s fully healthy now and expected to play without concerns in 2025. But his tenure in Green Bay is over after never coming close to what the Packers expected in the first place. In the 2020 offseason, both Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams were entering the final year of their deals in Green Bay. That motivated the Packers to select A.J. Dillon in the second round, much ahead of what the consensus indicated, projecting his development as a future starter. After all, the consensus was right. After Williams left in free agency and Jones re-signed, Dillon became a decent rotational running back with solid down-to-down efficiency, but the difference in explosiveness and ability to create more than what the offensive line gave them when Jones and Dillon were on the field was staggering.
And when the Packers decided to move on from Aaron Jones last season, Dillon was never the Plan A. To a point where Green Bay waited, and only cut Jones after they had agreed to sign Josh Jacobs in free agency.Last offseason, Dillon was also a free agent. His market didn't materialize as expected, though, and he returned to Green Bay under a rare four-year qualifying offer. And to make things worse, a preseason shoulder injury ended his 2024 season before it started.When healthy, he can still be a solid backup in the NFL. If you need four yards of him, he will give you four yards. If you need 12 yards of him, he will give you four yards. But for the right price, it's not an absurd bet.
Dillon, 26, was a second-round pick Green Bay in the 2020 NFL Draft. Before missing 2024 with his neck injury, Dillon had logged 597 carries for 2428 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns in four seasons. He also reeled in 86 receptions for 763 receiving yards and two more scores.
