Home Back

5 Players You Forgot Suited Up for the Philadelphia Eagles

Givemesport 2 days ago

Highlights

  • In between his runs with the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys, Mike Ditka donned a Philadelphia Eagles uniform.
  • Running back Herschel Walker impressed more with the Eagles than he did with the Vikings.
  • Longtime Washington wideout Art Monk ended his Hall of Fame career with the rival Eagles.

While Art Monk played 14 NFL seasons with the team now known as the Washington Commanders, he ended his Hall of Fame career with a division rival.

Seen by many as one of the best wide receivers in league history, he saw his career come to an end in 1995 with the Philadelphia Eagles. But Monk's time in Philly was short, as he caught just six passes in three games.

Many NFL fans may have forgotten Monk suited up for the Eagles. But he certainly isn't the only star who excelled with one team and came to the Eagles late in his career. Here are five players, Monk included, who you may have forgotten suited up for the Eagles.

1 Mike Ditka

Mike Ditka Philadelphia Eagles
Nate Fine/Getty Images

The fifth overall pick in the 1961 NFL Draft, Mike Ditka immediately proved his worth. The University of Pittsburgh product was snagged by the Chicago Bears and made five straight Pro Bowls as a tight end to begin his professional career.

As a rookie in 1961, Ditka caught 56 passes for 1,076 yards and 12 touchdowns en route to being named Rookie of the Year. In 1963, he was named a First-Team All-Pro for the first of two straight seasons, catching 59 passes for 794 yards and eight touchdowns.

Ditka, known by many today as the Super Bowl-winning coach of the Bears in 1985, played six seasons in the Windy City and never missed a game, finishing with 4,503 receiving yards and 34 touchdowns.

Ditka finished his career by playing four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, with whom he won a Super Bowl.

Sandwiched between his time in Chicago and Dallas were two subpar seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, to whom he was traded in 1967. His two seasons in Philly were marred by injuries and poor play. He started just 12 games with Philadelphia in two years and finished with 385 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988.

2 Herschel Walker

Herschel Walker surprisingly had more success with the Eagles than he did with the Vikings

Herschel Walker Philadelphia Eagles
Manny Rubio-USA TODAY Sports

The bulk of Herschel Walker's 12-year NFL career was played with the Dallas Cowboys. He also made headlines with the Minnesota Vikings after being the centerpiece of one of the biggest blockbuster trades in NFL history. He also played three seasons with the Eagles that may have gone unnoticed.

After a stellar college career at the University of Georgia, Walker signed with the short-lived USFL in 1983. The Cowboys acquired his rights by selecting him in the fifth round of the 1985 NFL Draft, and once he came to the NFL as a rookie in 1986, he started nine games for the Cowboys and rushed for 737 yards and a career-high 12 touchdowns.

In 1987 and 1988, he was voted to the Pro Bowl. During the '88 season, Walker rushed for a career-best 1,514 yards and five touchdowns. He finished fifth in the MVP voting and was named a Second-Team All-Pro for the second straight season.

The Cowboys traded Walker to the Vikings in 1989 for five players and six future draft picks, with many of the latter being used to build the Dallas dynasty of the early 1990s.

His best season in Minnesota came in his final campaign with the team in 1991, when he rushed for 825 yards and 10 touchdowns. In 1992, he signed with the Eagles and had a strong first season by rushing 276 times for 1,070 yards and eight touchdowns.

Walker ultimately played three seasons in Philly before heading to the New York Giants and then back to the Cowboys to finish his career. With Philadelphia, he collected 2,344 rushing yards, 80 more than he had with the Vikings.

3 Mark Bavaro

Mark Bavaro finished his solid NFL career by playing two seasons in Philadelphia

Mark Bavaro Philadelphia Eagles
RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Giants selected Mark Bavaro in the fourth round of the 1985 NFL Draft, and he was a Pro Bowler by his second season.

The Massachusetts native was expected to be primarily a blocking tight end coming out of Notre Dame, but he quickly showed he was much more than that. In his second NFL season, he caught 66 passes for 1,001 yards and four touchdowns, helping him earn First-Team All-Pro honors and a sixth-place finish in the NFL MVP voting. He also recorded 134 yards and two touchdowns in the Giants' Super Bowl-winning run in the postseason.

Bavaro followed up with another strong campaign in 1987, collecting 55 catches, 867 yards, and a career-best eight touchdown receptions. He was named a First-Team All-Pro for the second straight season.

Bavaro ultimately won two Super Bowls with the Giants, but he also battled knee injuries during his later stages with the team. The Giants cut him in 1991, and he missed that entire season because of injury. In 1992, he played a season with the Cleveland Browns and then closed his career by playing two years for the Eagles.

In those two seasons in Philly, Bavaro had 60 catches for 696 yards and nine touchdowns.

4 Art Monk

Art Monk played in three games for the Eagles to end his Hall of Fame career

Art Monk was a three-time Super Bowl champion in Washington and played 14 seasons with the team before finishing his Hall of Fame career with the Eagles in 1995.

Despite teaming up with standout wide receivers Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders, Monk still managed to put up some big numbers in Washington. He finished his career with five 1,000-yard seasons and led the NFL with 106 catches in 1984.

His 1,372 receiving yards in 1984 were a career-high, and that '84 season was the first of three straight Pro Bowl appearances for Monk. He was also named a First-Team All-Pro that year.

After his 14 years in Washington, Monk played a season with the New York Jets and then finished his career with the Eagles.

In 1995, Monk appeared in three games for Philadelphia, starting one of them. He caught six passes for 114 yards but failed to score a touchdown, marking the only season of his Hall of Fame career he didn't find the end zone.

5 Haloti Ngata

Haloti Ngata capped his 13-year NFL career by playing one season with the Eagles

Haloti Ngata Philadelphia Eagles
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Ravens used the 12th overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft to select defensive lineman Haloti Ngata, who proved to be well worth the high pick.

Ngata, a 6-foot-4, 340-pound defensive end/defensive tackle, spent nine seasons with the Ravens, earning five straight Pro Bowl selections from 2009 to 2013. He was also named a First-Team All-Pro in 2010 and 2011. In addition, Ngata was named a Second-Team All-Pro three times during his run with the Ravens.

In 2012, Ngata recorded five sacks and 51 combined tackles in helping Baltimore earn a berth in Super Bowl 47, where they defeated the San Francisco 49ers.

After his nine years with the Ravens, Ngata was traded to the Detroit Lions, with whom he played three seasons. He ended his career with one season in Philadelphia, where he played 13 games and had one sack and 17 combined tackles.

People are also reading