Thumbs up or down on the Eagles signing Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh

The Joseph signing addresses an immediate need with the Eagles’ top two nose tackles — Jordan Davis and Marlon Tuipulotu — injured. An argument could have been made for bringing the 34-year-old free agent in sooner, especially once Davis went down. But the Eagles likely thought they could get away with Tuipulotu and practice squad call-up Marvin Wilson during Davis’ 4-6-week recovery. If so, they thought wrong. Wilson was unable to fill the space-eater role in the middle of the five-down front in the narrow victory at the Texans, and Tuipulotu just didn’t have the presence for as many snaps as he played in the loss to Washington.

There were others who didn’t get the job done against the run in those games. But a nose tackle who can eat up blockers and account for both “A” gaps is crucial for Jonathan Gannon to implement his scheme. Joseph has experience in the defense, having played in a similar version last season with the Chargers. Most of the 13-year veteran’s career was spent predominantly in four-man fronts with the New York Giants and Vikings. But he executed many of the same techniques in the run game, which was to use his considerable size (6-foot-4, 335 pounds) and strength to clog up the middle for others to make stops.

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Joseph was impressive in the Eagles’ loss to the Chargers a year ago. Center Jason Kelce and then-right guard Jack Driscoll struggled all game to contain him. But the former has typically had some of his worst outings vs. much bigger nose tackles and Driscoll was out of his league. Joseph otherwise looked solid in other games on film, but he wasn’t near the dominant force he was earlier in his career. He said he played through elbow and shoulder injuries, though, and is healthy as he’s been in three years. He looks in shape. He should be relatively fresh having watched football from home through the first half of the season.

The Eagles just need him to do his fundamental job in five-down sets, at least until Davis returns, which could be for two or more games. There’s little reason to believe, he can’t — at the least — perform that function. Joseph is actually athletic enough to step into other spots. But for the purposes of the next month, with Jonathan Taylor, Aaron Jones, Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, Justin Fields and Tony Pollard on the schedule, he should do just fine. And then when Davis returns, the Eagles have greater depth at nose tackle than they did before.

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The Tuipulotu knee injury conveniently opened another roster spot for the Eagles to add a second interior defensive lineman this week. But was adding Suh necessary? The 35-year-old certainly upgrades the unit, even if he’s an older, lesser version of the defensive tackle who terrorized offensive linemen and quarterbacks for years. Suh was adequate last season for the Bucs. He didn’t do much individually in the playoff victory over the Eagles, but he tapped into some of his former moxie in the divisional playoff loss to the Rams. Suh has always been the type of lineman who can turn on his “A” game when he feels like doing so.

But Tampa didn’t bring him back, and he remained unsigned like Joseph. It’s likely that he didn’t want to play a full season and was just waiting for an opportunity to join a team with championship aspirations. So in that sense, Suh is a fit. But when the Eagles announced the move, just a day after Joseph, it had a “Dream Teamy” feel. Was it that great of a need or was Howie Roseman just showing off? There’s no denying the Eagles need run defense help up front, especially considering how Fletcher Cox has performed of late. Suh was decent enough against the run last season, but his specialty has been denting the pocket in the pass rush. The man is built like a brick, even if he may not have the legs he once did.

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How will Cox, Javon Hargrave, and Milton Williams feel about fewer snaps? Cox said he still “felt like [bleep]” two days after playing 70 of 84 snaps against Washington. It would seem he’d appreciate more breaks. But what happens late in a close game? Cox has always wanted to be on the field in those situations. Suh normally has been that guy as well. If the Eagles keep winning, no one will likely complain. But what happens in there are losses? Maybe there won’t be issues with chemistry and culture. I’ve been around long enough to see how acquired big names — Nnamdi Asomugha, DeMarco Murray, Michael Bennett — have negatively affected the locker room. I’ve also seen guys like DeMeco Ryans, Jay Ajayi, and A.J. Brown blend in and make a difference. Williams, a third-round draft pick now in his second season, may be the most affected by the crowded room. But Suh does bring physicality to a defense that needs some, and if another injury happens, Roseman won’t have to scramble again.

After Davis went down with a high ankle sprain, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni insisted under the public lens that the team would be fine moving forward with its current depth chart at interior defensive line.

Two games later, we’ve witnessed the Eagles struggle containing the run. They’ve had willing candidates, such as veteran Fletcher Cox and second-year defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu, but there’s been a noticeable drop in production compared to when Davis was deployed in known rush downs. By adding Joseph and Suh in consecutive days, the Eagles are adding depth to a position that surely could use the help.

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It remains unclear whether either of the two veteran defensive linemen still are capable at playing at a high level. Suh has 12 sacks over the past two seasons, but Father Time remains undefeated for nearly everybody in the NFL. Both players insist they’ve been keeping their bodies ready over the past several months, but the truth is neither has played in a football game since the end of last season. Of all the position groups, defensive tackle might arguably be the smoothest transition for a new player in Gannon’s defense. The terminology will be different, but, for the most part, interior defensive linemen have one particular goal in mind when they plant their hand on the field: Maul over your blocker and create havoc in the backfield.

It’s unlikely the Eagles ask Joseph or Suh to play an abundance of snaps. If either of them is capable of providing the team with quality production over the next two months, the Eagles will be able to take some pressure off other top contributors, while they eagerly await Davis’ return.

Inquirer Eagles beat reporters EJ Smith and Josh Tolentino preview the team’s Week 11 game against the Indianapolis Colts. Watch at Inquirer.com/EaglesGameday