Keith Adams knew he wasn’t a priority free agent.
But the diminutive linebacker whose sudden and almost lethal hits generated the nickname "bullet" attracted enough outside interest to understand the Eagles would low-ball him.
Adams heeded the advice of the Eagle he considers a big brother and Friday signed a one-year contract to stick with the winners.
The big brother, if you will, wasn’t Ike Reese, who signed with the Atlanta Falcons, but Pro Bowl middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, who only a few weeks ago turned down more money to re-sign with the Eagles.
"He helped me out with my decision a lot," Adams said on a conference call. "He said, ‘You guys have to do what’s best for your family, but remember you have an opportunity to win a championship here.’ I wanted to be on a championship team and have the opportunity to win a Super Bowl."
The four-time NFC East champion Eagles are favored to return to the Super Bowl after a 13-3 season ended with a 24-21 loss to the New England Patriots in SB XXXIX.
Adams, who said he received contract offers on trips to Atlanta and Kansas City, is hopeful he still might get the long-term pact he covets if he "proves the type of player" he is this season.
The way Adams (5-11, 223) understands it, he has a fighting chance to compete with the larger and more established Mark Simoneau (6-0, 245), and whomever the Eagles draft for the starting job at weak side linebacker. Simoneau was in and out of the lineup with injuries last season.
"I took less money to stay here," Adams, 25, a veteran of four NFL seasons said. "I’m just going to work as hard as I can to be a starter and let the chips fall where they may. I got a couple of contract offers but Philadelphia is where I wanted to be. I just wanted to be here."
Adams declined to say if he would continue playing a leading role on special teams, responding "Whatever it takes to win."
Adams joined the Eagles in October, 2002 after being waived by the Dallas Cowboys. He’d been a seventh-round draft pick of the Tennessee Titans in 2001 after a stellar career at Clemson capped by a junior season in which he was a finalist for the Butkus award that goes to the nation’s top linebacker.
Adams registered a career-best 54 tackles last season, making his first starts in the regular and the postseason. Adams registered 16 tackles starting two playoff games.
Adams has 72 career special teams tackles, including 24 last season.
The product of Atlanta, Ga., is the son of former Patriots DE Julius Adams, a standout defensive end. The two became just the fifth father and son combination to each play in a Super Bowl.
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