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Tulloch reports for work

With his signature on a new one-year contract, Stephen Tulloch will participate in his first practice with the Eagles Tuesday afternoon.

The 31-year-old linebacker's role has yet to be determined.

"We'll see,'' defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. "We're a merit-based defense. We don't go in with a whole lot of preconceived notions. He's not here to replace anybody. He's here to add to our group.

"As coaches, our job is to find out what guys do the best and what guys bring to the party. Every guy's got something different they bring to the party. We embrace that and try to find a role for all those guys. But what role he's going to play is yet to be determined.''

Asked about the possibility of using some sort of rotation at linebacker, Schwartz said it's possible.

"You've got to accentuate each guy's strengths,'' he said. "We talk about that a lot as a defensive line with rolling guys through. We do it as a secondary. There's nickel (packages). There's dime (packages). There's no reason you can't do that as linebackers.''

Tulloch was signed after seventh-round rookie Joe Walker, who was projected to back up starting middle linebacker Jordan Hicks, tore an anterior cruciate ligament in last week's preseason game against Pittsburgh.

Tulloch has spent 10 years in the NFL and has 111 career starts.

"He's a very experienced player,'' Schwartz said. "He's played at a high level (for a long time). He plays with a lot of spirit.

"He's heavy in the run game. He has natural leverage. That's a kind way of saying he's short (5-11, 235 pounds). But he's really powerful. He understands blocking schemes. He's got a good understanding of the passing game.

"He's got a little bit of experience in this defense. But I don't know if that means a whole lot. He's a good player. He's done it in a lot of different schemes.''

Tulloch has been with Schwartz for six of his 10 pro seasons – three in Tennessee (2006-08) when Schwartz was the Titans' defensive coordinator, and three in Detroit (2011-13) when he was the Lions' head coach.

Tulloch was released by the Lions in July, but Schwartz was confident that he's ready to play.

"He said he had been training twice a day,'' Schwartz said. "He knows. He's a veteran player. This is 11 years for him. Other than the ACL (that he tore in 2014), I don't think he's missed a practice in his career. When I was with him in Detroit, we tried to give him a vet day off in training camp.

"He came into my office mad as a hornet and was ready to practice. I said, 'Look, you're starting to get up (in age). Let's be smart with this.' And he's like, 'you're ruining my streak.'

"I said, 'what are you talking about?' He said, 'I've never missed a practice.' He'd never missed a game, but he also had never missed a game going back, I think, to high school.

"Guys like that, they know how to get themselves ready. He's not coming in here with his eyes shut not knowing what he's getting in to.''