Eagles Acquire DE Geathers For Havili

The Eagles announced today that they’ve traded fullback Stanley Havili to the Colts in exchange for defensive end Clifton Geathers.

Geathers (6-7, 325) is 25-years-old. He was originally a sixth-round pick by the Browns out of South Carolina back in 2010.

He’s bounced around the league, spending time with the Dolphins, Seahawks and Cowboys, in addition to the Colts and the Browns.

Last season, Geathers played 152 snaps for Indy, per Pro Football Focus, coming up with one sack and five tackles. In 2011, with Dallas, he played just 31 snaps.

As we mentioned earlier this week, the Eagles still need bodies on the defensive line. Geathers likely projects as a 5-technique defensive end, but will have to compete for a roster spot. In addition to his height, Geathers’ arms are 37 3/4-inches long. In other words, the theme of Chip Kelly wanting to add length on defense continues.

As for Havili, the writing was probably on the wall for him when the Eagles signed James Casey.

Originally a seventh-round pick out of USC in 2011, he played 21.5 percent of the Eagles’ offensive snaps last year, appearing in 15 of 16 games. He had six carries for 22 yards and a touchdown and also caught seven balls for 43 yards. Havili spent 37.5 percent of his snaps as a blocker in the run game and actually turned out to be an adequate lead blocker when called upon.

But it’s unlikely that the Eagles will use the fullback in a traditional role under Kelly. Casey spent 54.6 percent of his offensive snaps as a run blocker last year with the Texans. I’m guessing one of the things he found attractive about the Eagles is that won’t be his primary role here. But if called upon to serve as a lead blocker on occasion, he should be able to get the job done.

More to come.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
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