The Eagles spent a good part of the offseason focused on improving in two areas - creating turnovers and beefing up the special teams unit.
The Eagles' newest acquisition is a familiar face who hopes to do both.
Just one day after he was released from the New York Giants, linebacker Tank Daniels was claimed off waivers by the Eagles. The move caught Daniels "off-guard" as he was in the process of signing the papers to remain with the Giants on their practice squad.
"This is so crazy for me. I just can't believe it," Daniels said. "The one thing that I do love about both teams that I've been on is they both hate Dallas. I'm really cool with that. Even though I'm an Arkansas kid, I've never really liked the Cowboys. Fortunately enough, I've been on two teams that hate the Cowboys.
Daniels returns to Philadelphia where his NFL career began. A rookie free agent signing in 2006, he spent the first 10 weeks of his rookie season on the practice squad before joining the 53-man active roster before the battle with Indianapolis. Daniels recorded nine special teams tackles in the final six regular season contests.
In addition to helping out the special teams unit, Daniels will be the second-string strongside linebacker behind Chris Gocong. Daniels remained familiar with the Eagles' defensive scheme in New York since it was orchestrated by former Eagles assistant Steve Spagnuolo. To make room for Daniels, the Eagles released Rocky Boiman.
The 26-year-old native of Clarendon, Ark. won a Super Bowl with the Giants last season and helped provide a key turnover in the Wild Card win over Tampa Bay. He forced Bucs kickoff returner Michael Spurlock to fumble the opening kickoff of the second half and subsequently recovered the loose ball. The Giants took advantage by adding a field goal to extend their lead to 10 in an eventual 24-14 win.
"I don't think anything spectacular happened. Nobody blocked me and the guy was just running at me. I tried to make a big play, the ball came out. We eventually scored on that drive. That's probably one of my biggest plays," Daniels said.
Daniels became the first player from Division II Harding University to play in the NFL. His jersey number (No. 3) was retired by the school this past season.
Defensive end Jerome McDougle, who was released by the Eagles on Saturday, signed a one-year deal with the Giants.
