Why the Eagles welcomed back Sills after acquittal
Why the Eagles welcomed back Sills after acquittal originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Eagles never hesitated to bring Josh Sills back, and on Sunday Nick Sirianni explained why.
“My experience with Josh has been nothing but positive,” Sirianni said before the open practice at the Linc. “He's been a great teammate and done his job and guys love him on this team.
"So my experience with him has been great. We're happy to have him back.”
Sills on Friday was found not guilty of felony charges of rape and kidnapping stemming from an alleged incident in December 2019 involving a former classmate at Meadowbrook High School in Byesville, Ohio, about 80 miles east of Columbus.
The four-day jury case was heard at Guernsey County Court in Cambridge, Ohio, and the jury acquitted Sills after deliberating for less than three hours.
Sills faced 11 to 16 years in prison on each of the two felony charges, according to CourtTV.com.
Sills was indicted on Feb. 1, 2023, and had been on the Commissioner’s Exempt List since then, preventing him from playing or practicing with the team while still allowing him to be paid.
“Obviously, we never took the charge lightly,” Sirianni said. “So you're completely aware of that and then he goes on the exempt list. We followed all the protocols there as far as just wanting to let the legal process play itself out.
“I think just, at the end of the day, we let the legal process and the league's decision to take him off the exempt list make our decision.”
Sills, an interior offensive lineman, played college football at West Virginia for three years before transferring to Oklahoma State, where he was a two-time all-Big 12 first-team pick.
The Eagles signed Sills after the 2022 draft, and he was among three undrafted rookies to make the 53-man roster, along with defensive backs Reed Blankenship and Josh Jobe.
He was active for three games but played in just one – at Arizona in October. He played four snaps, all on special teams.
Sills was with the team until Feb. 1, when he was indicted. He was inactive for the Eagles' first two playoff games before going on the exempt list and missing the Super Bowl.
According to CourtTV, defense attorney Michael Connick accused the prosecution of timing the indictment specifically to prevent Sills from accompanying the Eagles to Arizona for LVII on Feb. 12.
“The timing of presenting the case to the grand jury was intentional and retaliatory to deprive Mr. Sills from participating in an event that is the pinnacle of every National Football League player’s career, a pinnacle very few players achieve,” Connick wrote in court records, according to Court TV.
With the Eagles, Sills joins a crowded group of interior linemen battling for roster spots behind starters Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce and Cam Jurgens. Tyler Steen, Jack Driscoll, Brett Toth, Cameron Tom, Tyrese Robinson, Julian Good-Jones, Sua Opeta, Sills and Josh Andrews — signed on Sunday — are all in this group.
The Eagles had a scheduled off day on Monday. It wasn't immediately clear what day Sills will be back at practice.
Subscribe to Eagle Eye anywhere you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | YouTube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube
