Eagles Sign DE/OLB McCoy, Release Demetress Bell


The Eagles announced today that they’ve signed DE/OLB Chris McCoy and released Demetress Bell.

McCoy spent the last two seasons with the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL.  He had three sacks and 29 tackles in 2012, but suffered a season-ending knee injury in August.

McCoy (6-3, 261) played his college ball at Middle Tennessee State and was a seventh-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2010. Here’s what NFL.com had to say about him at the time:

McCoy, from Middle Tennessee State, is another small-school defensive end projected to convert to outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense. McCoy has a quick first step, is a natural bender and has a great motor. Like most of these small-school conversion projects, he’s undersized.

In his final college season, McCoy had seven sacks and 20 tackles for loss (tied for seventh-most in the country). The Dolphins released him after training camp, but added him to their practice squad later in the season. McCoy later joined Houston’s practice squad, and the Steelers added him to their offseason roster in 2011.

The Eagles have kept an eye on the CFL for defensive talent in the past. They signed Phillip Hunt from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2011 and reportedly showed interest in defensive lineman Armon Armstead earlier this offseason.

As for Bell, the Eagles signed him last offseason after Jason Peters went down with an Achilles injury. Bell was one of the top tackles on the market at the time, but proved to be a disaster with the Birds. He started four games and was a complete liability.

Below is a YouTube highlight reel of McCoy from college. Thanks to Tommy Lawlor over at IgglesBlitz.com for Tweeting out the link.

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