The Eagles announced on Monday evening that they have claimed safety Brett Johnson off waivers from the Buffalo Bills.
The 6-1, 194-pound safety was originally signed by the Bills as a rookie free agent following the 2010 NFL Draft. A former Cal product, Johnson finished his Golden Bears career with 107 tackles and three interceptions. Last year, he started 12 of the team's 13 games at safety and led all Cal DBs with a career-high 52 tackles. Against Oregon, Johnson forced a fumble and laid out a career-best eight tackles.
Tony Pauline of TFYDraftPreview.com wrote that Johnson "possesses the size/speed numbers and] underlying skills" [to succeed in a zone system.
Johnson is a "solid zone safety best between the numbers," Pauline also wrote. "(He) remains disciplined with assignments, displays a burst of speed and is aggressive defending the run."
The Eagles will need to get the roster to the 80-man limit for the start of training camp. The two unsigned draft picks - DE Brandon Graham and FS Nate Allen - don't count towards that total. At safety, the Eagles also have Pro Bowl strong safety Quintin Mikell, veteran Quintin Demps and rookies Kurt Coleman and Ryan Hamilton. Macho Harris played safety last season, but has been used almost exclusively at cornerback in the OTAs.
-- Posted by Chris McPherson, 5:45 p.m., June 28
