PHLY Philadelphia Eagles Podcast - Emergency Pod: Eagles Sign CB Riq Woolen! | PHLY Eagles Podcast

Episode Date: March 11, 2026

Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, welcome ex-Seahawks CB Riq Woolen to an ELITE secondary for the Eagles and Vic Fangio. Howie Roseman does it again! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello everybody and welcome to an emergency podcast. We have movement. Howie Roseman, live from the Xfinity Studio, has done the deal. Eagles add to Quinyan Mitchell and Cooper DeGine, Rieck Wullen, a cornerback from the Seattle Seahawks who had a pro ball season as a rookie with six interceptions. It's been a little bit up and down since then, but reportedly a one-year deal worth up to 15 million. in dollars, Fran Duffy in the car, E.J. Smith, kick the kids out of class today. E.J., what do you make of the move? Yeah, live from the classroom here for me, I think this deal

makes a ton of sense for the Eagles. It's a surprising one because we didn't really expect them to be in this market, you know, this high level in terms of investment at the position. You know, we kind of expected them to be bargain basement shopping at cornerback. But if you can sign a player like Greek woolen, all. on a one-year deal, again, up to $15 million. You know, the upside play there on that short-term deal, I think it makes a ton of sense. You get them in and out before you have to extend the likes

with Quinnian Mitchell and Cooper to Gene. And, you know, we should lead with this. I feel like I got a text from somebody in the Eagles building a few minutes ago. Sticiest secondary in the league is what they're saying with this edition. So, you know, I think, yeah, it's a huge addition for the Eagles after, you know, a quiet start to free agency. And, yeah, I think it's a really good fit for the secondary.

we are bearing the lead a little bit because we should say off the top a great job by agent jason chayotte to get this bad boy done uh fran we hear the blinkers what what's going on no i mean i had to take francis over he's got he's got a he's got an activity that he does on on tuesday night so uh literally was walking to the car and saw the notification on my phone and i was like i saw all like Tariq Wullen, and I saw the next one was, this is the Eagles first signing. I'm like, oh, you got to be kidding me. So it's literally as I'm getting in the car. So drop Francis off and jumped on the pod.

I feel like this move, we talked about this framing last week. To me, this is really big. Jeffrey passes Howard the joint. Howie takes a big old puff. It's like, you know, what would be cool? world will we sign reek woolen man get him in and out on a one year deal before we got to pay cooper and quinyon

best stickiest stickiest sickiest, iciest secondary in the league I'm sure that's exactly how that happened I'm sure that's exactly how that played out sometimes it's not about the scouting it's just about who is a name that we know that pops and reek woolen is obviously an extremely talented player friend what can you tell us about the

the kind of player the eagles are getting Yeah, I mean, this is a kid coming out of UTSA, a few years back, six foot four, roundabout 210 pounds, roundabout, round about, round in the four threes. And so, you know, outstanding, this is, this is EJ's kind of player. This is a, this is a traitzy player. This is E.J.'s kind of player. That's why I'm so excited, yeah. Although, I will say, like, I've been very confused about, you know, trying to track what

is EJ's kind of player, because not every player is this traitzy, but he is a very trait see corner. Now, he has been very volatile over the course of his career. You know, he has had shares of his up and down play. We saw that even last year on their Super Bowl run in Seattle where there were some really high moments from Rikwollen and there were some really low moments from Rieke Wolland. We remember that the playoff game against the Rams where he basically did everything he could to beg the refs to throw the personal foul penalty for taunting the ramp sideline. And that's obviously an extreme example, but he has been a frustrating player over the last two, three years.

And there are times where he's been in the lineup, and then there are times where he's been benched. And they kind of left the door open, where you would have thought after his rookie year, this is a guy they're going to build right. He's going to be a building black piece for them. And the fact that he's leaving after his rookie contract, I would say as an upset based off what your thoughts would have been two,

three years ago. Yeah, it is important to remember here the fact that the CELC, Hawks, who had the best defense in football and had all kinds of cap space, instead of choosing to bring back Rick Wullen, chose to bring back Josh Job, the guy who the Eagles kicked to the side two years ago, right? And so they are making it very clear that he was not the most important part of the defense.

And listen, I mean, he only started seven games this year. He was in and out of the lineup. Yep. But the upside is there. And listen, he's going to get a lot of work in the secondary opposite Quinnianianian-Mitchell and Cooper DeGene. So it makes sense that the Eagles prioritize this. if you were thinking of, okay, we want to spend on one person in the secondary,

I can get behind, you know, taking the swing on Rick Wullen as opposed to paying one of these safeties, and maybe you hope that the safeties can piece it together. But it is very interesting. This is a big gambit by Howie Roseman. Yeah, you know, the first thought that I had was the best secondary combo of the Eagles have had since. I mean, are you going Quinnian Mitchell and Darius Lay there? I mean, is it that recent? or do you think that this has the upside to be better than that?

I mean, Quinyon and Slay, Slay and Bradbury, those were both excellent corner tendoms. I mean, Sheldon Brown and Lido Sheppard, you know, true, Vincent, Bobby Taylor. I mean, that's a genuine question. I think, you know, people are going to be excited about this signing. I feel like, you know, at least at the very least it has the upside to be that good. You think so?

I mean, listen, I'm very curious to see what the actual structure of its project is. I do, yeah. Because the corner market has been interesting. some of the mid guys have been signing at like 10 but the nashon right signs a one year five and a half million dollar deal today so i'm very curious to see i mean if this could be this could be seven million with eight million in incentive something like that and this is also uh we ring the bell for the cohabitation matrix as well right uh yeah clint hurt was in the building um you know with in seattle with uh reek woollen when he had that pro bowl season as a rookie so uh got to see him at his best also got to see that from my timing is right. He also would have seen him when he started the downslope as well. So the Eagles know what they're getting into with a one-year contract. I would put this in the category, though, well, it's not like bargain bin shopping.

Like, going a one-year deal on a guy like this is a prove-a deal. And so, you know, to your point, like, it's not like it's a long-term investment. I do think it makes sense from that standpoint. Did this deter, you know, did they know that this was in the cards when they said no to re-blanketship? Like, would I rather invest there? That's tough. It's a good question. Yeah. No, I think that I think you're asking the right question there, friend. I do wonder if the investment in the secondary, the investment in the priority to get a sticky

corner opposite Quinnion Mitchell was a priority for them internally there. You know, to me, and I'm seeing reports now that the Eagles were in on Alante Taylor's market. Now, you know, we don't know how aggressive that was, but it was a concept we talked about going into free agency, you know, whether it. if there's a market opportunity for a player where you feel like the value, you know, outweighs the positional prioritization that you typically would have. And I think this does fall into that category. You know, projections for Rick Wolland going into free agency, you know,

looking really quickly before the show is four years, 76 million. So to get him on a one-year deal, a prove-it deal, as Fran said, I think it makes a ton of sense, especially, you know, what we've talked about, the Quinion Mitchell and Cooper DeGene extensions looming, but you kind of fit this piece in before those, those, really kick in. Well, your team's starting lineup may change, as the Eagles has, but the price of your internet will not. If you're using Xfinity, check out the five-year price guarantee from our friends at Xfinity. We're bringing us this emergency pod. We should say this means for the compic

formula followers here, likely this is going to cancel out being a Kobe Dean exit contract. So the Eagles would still be on the hook to reap the rewards of a Jalen Phillips potential third round compick and then you got the reed blankenship and jehan dotson ones that are qualifying based on what else happens with the eagles here now ej your sense the the insider is all saying how he's not done yet yeah yeah i mean i i actually think it's ironic that this was like the first move after you know i spent days you know the last few days talking about oh you know they're not going to be able to make splashy moves you know they're they've got these extensions coming up you know it's kind of they have to be prudent to keep the players that they have in house, you knew how I was going to do something like

this eventually. You knew that there was going to be one that you didn't see coming. The howie-wowie, as my former colleague Jeff McLean would call them. And yeah, they definitely still have moves to make at tight end in particular. You know, I would say even at Eddresher, I wouldn't be surprised if they make moves there. So yeah, there's more to come. You know, I know it was a little bit of a longer weight than some Eagles fans expected. But yeah, I definitely think this will be the first move of a few that we see from the team over the next few days. How excited does this make you about this group, friend? The upside is fun.

I just, one of the reasons I didn't think that there was a great, like, schematic fit just because of like the volatile nature of his play personality, right? Like, I don't know, like, how much Vic Fangio is going to love that, personally. So that's a, there's a combustible nature to this as well, I think. And E.J., are you getting any kind of, uh, of Thrones vibes from the name reek no no i don't i don't think we should go there with his name you know reek was a pretty a pretty tough name in the game of thrones landscape it's spelled differently short for tariq so now i wouldn't say there's uh any any bad juju from from reek there uh even though the

pronunciation is the same can we get a can we get a sheep themed uh merch for wool oh i like that i like that idea. You kick in the door. So, so let me ask you this. What the Eagles have done is instead of, instead of saying, okay, we want to play the, the cornerback churn, wait until after the draft, get in the Dory Jackson type, you know, hope for something like that and roll the dice there. What they have said is they want, they want to prioritize this over doing it at safety or doing it at edge. Do you think that is the right team building choice, Fran first? It surprises me. To me, just because of the nature of this Vic Fangio defense, to me, it would probably, I would think that you would go the inverse and say, like, all right, we're going to try and see if we could spend a little bit at safety and then try and play the, you know, the rotating game at corner. So, yeah, it's an interesting signing and it has the chance to be really, really fun. But thinking about it too, and I think thinking about like historic Eagles corner tundoms, the, the analog here, like, me like this is like a he's like a DRC archetype for Eagles fans like it's like the good count the height

weight speed the you know that ability to to you know make the big play and he's he's a really fun talent but a mercurial talent and so it's going to be that'll be an interesting one to follow I have a I have a quick scattering report from the great Michael Sean Dugar who covers the sea house love this love that for the athletics says recat his best can cover anyone in the league at a high level has great reps against guys like Jamar Chase, Justin Jefferson, T. Higgins, Devante Adams, Garrett, Tyreek Puka, and pretty much every good outside receiver, he's played great. Although there's one game against C.D. Lammy wasn't great. The other shoe is about to drop as he is texting on the butt. You can all wait around. That's the stuff that I'm excited for right there.

Because you're not really going to be, you're not asking him to do that. You know, he is going to be matched up against number two receivers or maybe you do feel like you can really establish a field side and a boundary side like they did toward the end of last season. So actually, I guess that's a good question for Fran is how do you think they'll start those guys out? Do you think one of them is better on the field or the boundary side? You know, without having studied exactly like the usage with Rieke Wolland certainly over the last couple of years and over the course of his entire career, I don't think that they ever like, played sides there. So I do think that you could get back to how you did it with Slay,

where you have a little bit more freedom there. I'm just waiting for the second part of the text. Oh, man, we're still waiting. Oh, man, it's going to be a long one. It's a long butt. What I love about Michael Sean, Michael Sean doesn't pull punches with the analysis, too. I'm very excited by this. I do think that how, you mentioned the thing that happened in the Rams game, Fran. That's got to be what convinced Nick, don't you think?

I mean, as Old Man Slay, just commented this is, you know, this was, cemented it for Nick. Yeah, I think, I don't know. That's what I mean is that there is a, there's an element to it where I just don't see like him and Vic like meshing, right? And now, again, like, Clint hurt like stood out on the table. It's like, yeah, like, hey, we'll keep him straight. We'll be good.

Maybe it'll work out that way. Right. Part two has arrived. And I'm warning you now that there is a part three that's coming that is also in the dots. He was briefly benched in 2020, against the Eagles for performance reasons and again in 2024, for disciplinary reasons. He was basically CB3 after week two of this season. Why? Rieck isn't always locked in.

He knows this and tried to work on it in the 2025 off season, but it just didn't come. come to fruition like he'd hoped. He gave up the game-winning touchdown in week one, part three. The best version of RIC is as good as any cornerback in the league. Seattle truly believed that. Just a matter of how often Philly gets that version. There we go. As the guy who is most excited about the signing based off of the last 15 minutes of this conversation,

he's on a prove-it deal. He's going to be incentivized. heavily to prove it this season that he can be one of the best corners in the NFL. Yes. If there is a young player that you want to incentivize with a one-year deal, this feels like exactly the right thing to do. And hopefully he comes in knowing that he is cornerback three here. He's coming in knowing that it's Quinniae Mitchell and Cooper Dijian. He's the guy who has to pull up the floor of that group as opposed to coming in thinking that he is the top guy. And we also talked about the idea of, you know, Howie,

being worried about the locker room dynamics of in-season extensions, and would that carry over to corner? Would it make sense to bring in a highly paid young corner when you know that you have to pay Quinyan and Cooper, and those guys are going to think that they're better than that guy? And I think doing it on a one-year deal is a neat solution to that problem. Yeah, I think that's perfectly stated. You know, it was why we had hesitation when talking about players like this, you know, guys would be, you know, like the mercenary type, but I think for him, it is. It makes total sense to sign him on a

Prove-It deal. Really, this is like, you know, one of the, I feel like there are a lot of moves the Eagles are making right now that are maybe, with moves in the future into account and, you know, future iterations of the team. This to me is like the Super Bowl window is open and we need to maximize what the next, what next year's version of this roster looks like. And that is signing a player like Greek woman on a one-year proof-it deal and, you know, understanding that the upside there is the best cornerback trio in the NFL. You know, if all three of those guys are playing at the peak of their powers, I don't know if there is a trio that I would take over them. All right. Well, that's going to close the book on this emergency podcast on the PHLY Eagle Show. Fran's got to get

going. EJ's got to chase some kids back, see if he can teach him some lessons. We will be with you in the empty classroom. It's so depressing. If there are any more Eagles moves tonight, we will be with you for an emergency podcast, but the bottom line, Howie Roseman is not swinging for singles. He is swinging for upside. This is a move not about raising the floor, but about raising the ceiling to make this potentially the best secondary in football. Rick Wollen and his Pro Bowl background and impressive ball skills comes to join Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeGine. And now it's up to Vic Fangio to make it all safe. So for Fran Duffy and E.J. Smith, I'm Bo Wolf. We will stay with you as free agency frenzy continues and as always make sure you hit the like button

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