The Legacy of the Briefest Eagles

A celebration of players who were on the Philadelphia Eagles for a shortest amount of time

Sometimes you enter a party and immediately decide it’s not for you. You walk into a house full of people, trying to convince yourself you’re in the mood to be fun. You clutch a red solo cup filled with the finest boxed wine. You survey the room only to decide that you’ve caught an invisible stomach bug, telling everyone that you’re going to be sick so you can head home and watch season 1 of Veep in its entirety from the comforts of your couch.

This, I assume, is what it’s like to be Jaire Alexander. You’re all about something until suddenly you’re not. After being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles before the trade deadline two weeks ago, Jaire Alexander informed the team this week that he will be stepping away from football to focus on his mental and physical health. Something seemed to be awry after Alexander didn’t fly with the team to Green Bay in what would’ve been a revenge game against his former team. But I can’t blame him, football is a mentally and physically taxing sport. We wish Jaire the best in his recovery. In a sport like football, it’s especially important to take mental health seriously.

This season, the Eagles have witnessed the impromptu retirement of one player, the unretirement of another player, and the semi-retirement of another player. As my friend Keenan says, the Birds are net -1 for retired vs. unretired players this season. This isn’t the first time the Eagles have had players grace the halls of the Novacare Center for extremely brief periods of time. There are a slew of forgotten Eagles who were barely Eagles at all. Those who join Za’Darius Smith in the halls of Eagles Valhalla. And just because their time with us was short, it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be remembered for their role in Philadelphia Eagles lore.

So today we’re paying homage to the players who were part of our beloved Birds for less than a season (and some less than two days). Those who were here for a good time but not a long time, and some who were barely here at all. This is a list of our most brief Birds.

Kevin Byard, Safety (Eagle for 10 games)

I apologize to any Eagles fans who experience PTSD from the mention of the 2023 season. The post-Super Bowl appearing season saw the Eagles start 10-1 before losing 5 of their last 6 games and getting bounced in the wild card round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now that we’ve faced that trauma head-on, we can remember that Howie Roseman traded for Titans safety Kevin Byard before week 7 to patch up the second safety spot. Byard was a longtime Eagles trade target who fell out of favor in Tennessee. He played well for the Eagles, recording a key interception against the Chiefs, and was a decent tackler. But unfortunately, Byard’s talent couldn’t bolster an Eagles defense that was one of the worst in the league. The trade happened a month before Eagles defense coordinator Sean Desai’s playcalling duties were stripped and given to even worse defensive coordinator and “man who always has a pencil in his ear despite the playsheet being laminated” Matt Patricia. Byard was released by the Birds in the offseason and signed with Chicago. May the 2023 season burn in hell.

Golden Tate, Wide Receiver (Eagle for 10 games)

Coming off a 1,000-yard season for Jim Caldwell’s plucky Detroit Lions, led by a young Matthew Stafford, Tate was traded to the Eagles halfway through the 2018 season for a 3rd round pick. Tate was joining an Eagles team that was off to a slow start following their Super Bowl-winning season. He joined a receiving room featuring Alshon Jeffrey, Nelson Agholor, Jordan Mathews, Zach Ertz, and young Dallas Goedert. Tate failed to make an impact with the Eagles, racking up 1 touchdown and 278 yards in his 10 games with Philly. Carson Wentz suffered a stress fracture in his back that December, and an Eagles team that was relying on some more Foles-ian magic beat the Bears in the first round of the playoffs (Double Doink!) before losing to the Saints the next round (Alshon Jeffrey drop!). Tate left that offseason and signed with the division rival New York Giants.

Robert Quinn, Defensive End (Eagle for 6 games)

Another long-rumored Eagles trade target joined the 2022 Birds before Week 8. Historically, a disruptive defensive end, Howie Roseman was hoping this addition to a talented defensive line that featured Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, and Haasan Reddick would push this team over the edge. As you know, the Eagles made a run to the Super Bowl that year before losing to the Kansas City Chiefs. A past-his-prime Quinn played no role, totaling 4 tackles and zero sacks in his time with the Birds. But at least he got to watch the Super Bowl from the sideline, so that’s something!

Za’Darius Smith, Defensive End (Eagle for 5 games)

After the first game of the 2025 season against Dallas, Howie Roseman sought to patch up an anemic defensive line that struggled to fill the voids left by the departures of Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat, and Milton Williams. Howie brought in Za’Darius Smith, who was coming off a 9-sack campaign with Cleveland and Detroit in 2024. Smith came in and was immediately the Eagles’ best pass rusher. Then, in week 6, the Eagles got smacked by the New York Giants, and Za’Darius decided football wasn’t for him anymore. He got a taste of cold weather in Philly and decided that he preferred Cancun. He exited with the utmost casualness and sailed off into the sunset. It’s almost like he was never here at all. Two years from now, in a conversation with a friend, I’ll confess, “Was Za’Darius Smith on the Eagles, or was that just a dream I had?”

Mike Wallace, Wide Receiver (Eagle for 2 games)

The Birds signed Mike Wallace as a free agent in 2018. The speedy receiver made his mark with the Steelers before moving around to Minnesota and Miami. He experienced a career renaissance in his two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, posting 1,000 yards in his first season with the team and over 700 in his second. At the time, Howie Roseman was addicted to the idea of fast people catching the ball (see: Reagor, Jalen). Wallace joined an Eagles team coming off a Super Bowl. He played the first two games of the season and recorded 3 targets for 0 yards before fracturing his fibula and going on injured reserve.

Tim Tebow, Quarterback Kind Of? (Eagle for 4 preseason games)

My worst hot take is that there is an alternate reality where Tim Tebow was a decent NFL quarterback. We, however, do not live in that reality. After winning a playoff game with the Denver Broncos, the team booted Tebow to make room for Hall-of-Fame quarterback Peyton Manning (who, my sources tell me, was much better than Tebow). Tebow bounced to the Jets and then the Patriots before being brought in by the Chip Kelly-led Eagles in 2015. It was a time when the wildcat was all the rage, and teams were looking for big QBs they could use to run the ball into other big people.

Tebow was vying for the third-string quarterback spot in competition with Matt Barkley. That competition didn’t pan out for ol’ Timmy T. He threw for 2 touchdowns and 286 yards in four preseason games, including a gem against the Jets where Tebow went 11 of 17 for 189 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 11.1 yards per attempt. Unfortunately, those preseason heroics weren’t enough to get him a spot on the roster, and Tebow was released after the preseason.

Afterwards, he left the league to **checks notes** pursue a career in baseball before signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars under Urban Meyer to play tight end after not being in the league for six years. To be honest, this was one of many large red flags for the Urban Meyer era in Jacksonville.

Frank Gore, Running Back (Eagle for 0 games)

In March 2015, Frank Gore verbally committed to signing with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Hall-of-Fame running back was coming off another 1,000-yard season with the San Francisco 49ers and was looking for a change of scenery. Unfortunately, he was looking for a change of scenery from his change of scenery. 24 hours later, Gore ghosted Philly to sign with the Indianapolis Colts. A true Eagles legend. We’ll never forget your contributions to the city, Frank.

Marquise Goodwin, Wide Receiver (Eagle for 0 games)

In 2020, Howie traded for 49ers deep threat Marquise Goodwin to supplement the receiving core. Unfortunately, we all know what went down in 2020. Goodwin opted out of his contract due to COVID and decided to spend more time with his family. I can’t blame him. Why play ball when you can stay home and watch Tiger King?

Myles Jack, Linebacker (Eagle for 0 games)

At a time when the Eagles had no linebacker depth to speak of, they took a flier on long-time linebacker Myles Jack. Jack had a solid career with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers. Before signing with the Eagles in 2023, he mused about going to trade school to become an electrician or a plumber. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a red flag. Jack signed with the Eagles in August and retired later that month. He still hasn’t gone to trade school.