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Eagles bring back safety Nate Allen

The Eagles and safety Nate Allen agreed on a one-year contract, the team announced Monday.

Allen became an unrestricted free agent last Tuesday, but after almost of week of testing the market, opted to return to Philly. He becomes the third safety the Eagles have signed in the last week after they inked Malcolm Jenkins to a three-year contract and Chris Maragos to a two-year deal.

The Eagles now have five safeties on their roster -- Earl Wolff, Keelan Johnson, Jenkins, Maragos and Allen. They released Patrick Chung last week and Kurt Coleman and Colt Anderson also became free agents and have yet to sign with another team.

Allen had arguably his best season in 2013. He started off slow, but became more reliable as the season progressed. The 26-year old cut down on the errors, but his game was still lacking in the big-play department. The Eagles credited Allen with 94 tackles. He notched one interception and one sack.

Allen had an up-and-down first four seasons in the NFL after the Eagles selected him in the second round of the 2010 draft. He recorded three interceptions as a rookie, but suffered a season-ending knee injury in December. He returned in time for the 2011 season opener, but didn't earn back his starting spot until October.

In 2012, he struggles continued and he lost his starting spot towards the end of the season.

With Jenkins on board, Allen will likely compete with Wolff for the other starting safety spot. Wolff showed some promise in his first season, but had his rookie season derailed by a knee injury. Even if the Eagles have Wolff penciled in as the starter opposite Jenkins, they have Allen to push him during the spring and training camp.