The Eagles looked to have great depth in the secondary, but the front office wasn’t satisfied.
Even with veteran Joselio Hanson and rookie Brandon Boykin fighting to be the nickel cornerback, the team added another name to the mix Thursday when it acquired Kevin Thomas. The Eagles sent linebackers Moise Fokou and Greg Lloyd to Indianapolis in exchange for Thomas and a conditional seventh-round draft pick in 2013.
Thomas, a third-round choice in 2010, started five games for the Colts last season after missing his rookie year with a knee injury. He recorded 33 tackles with three passes defensed. Eagles GM Howie Roseman said he scouted Thomas (6-foot, 195 pounds) when he was a senior at USC.
“This is a big corner that can run,” Roseman said. “We just felt like it was a win-win situation for us and for the Colts. We’ll get another guy [linebacker]. We are always looking for corners and linemen; that is something we will always be on the lookout for.”
Of course, the Eagles have an old friend in the Indianapolis front office. Ryan Grigson is in his first year as GM of the Colts after serving as Eagles personnel chief the past couple seasons.
“Obviously that relationship helps and we are able to talk about things,” Roseman admitted.
When asked if Thomas would compete to be the nickel corner, Roseman said, “I haven’t seen him play nickel so I couldn’t tell you that it is something that we project him yet to do. We’ll see once he gets here if he can do it and go from there.”
