How Street always knew he wanted to be an Eagle

Posted April 6, 20232 yr

How Street always knew he wanted to be an Eagle

Reuben Frank

Long before he hit free agency, long before he walked into the NovaCare Complex, long before he met Nick Sirianni or any of the other coaches, Kentavius Street knew he wanted to be an Eagle.

He just knew.

"I've always been a fan of the Eagles, going back to the days of Trent Cole and Brian Dawkins,” the newest Eagle. "I really feel like this Eagles organization’s always had a standard that they’ve upheld. It’s never faltered. So it's extremely exciting to be a part of it because I really feel like I can put my best foot forward here.”

The Eagles signed the four-year veteran defensive lineman to a one-year contract Thursday, and on Monday he chatted with the media and explained not only why he prefers being called "Street” to "Kentavius” but more importantly why the Eagles’ were his first choice in free agency.

Street said looking at the franchise from the outside, this was always a place he wanted to play while he was with the 49ers and Saints.

"From the outside looking in, it looked like the players and everyone really enjoyed coming to work here,” he said. "And I feel like it's very rare in our line of work. It can be very grueling. Of course, it's very demanding, and to be able to come in day in, day out and smile and enjoy being around your coworkers? That's special, man. It's rare and I'm so happy to be a part of it. I can't wait to get around all the fellas.”

Street said that was the impression he got when he faced the Eagles with the 49ers in 2021 and the Saints last year.

"Game day, just how the guys interact,” he said. "You can't hide stuff on the football field, you really can't. So just how they celebrate together other peoples’ successes.

"On a lot of teams when a guy gets a sack, he's the only one celebrating. On the Eagles, the whole defense is crazy. They're happy. The d-linemen are butting heads, jumping in the air, hitting each other, hugging each other.

"That's special. You want that. Like, we grind throughout the whole season. You go to training camp, OTAs, these practices, it's so grueling on the body. You want to see the guys want you to be successful and you want to see the other guys be successful. And it's special that they have that here, especially with all the defensive success they've had here.”

After playing sparingly as a rookie after tearing his ACL in the spring, the 26-year-old Street has 6 ½ sacks, 13 tackles for loss and 13 quarterback hits in 52 games with four starts over three seasons. He’s averaged 25 snaps per game the last three seasons, which is about where you’d expect him to be this year as well in the Eagles’ d-line rotation.

Like Terrell Edmunds, Justin Evans, Greedy Williams, Nick Morrow, Rashad Penny and Marcus Mariota, Street signed an inexpensive one-year deal. And like most of those other guys, he’s been a role player and part-time starter who hopes to parlay a year with the Eagles into a long-term contract in a year. Either here or somewhere else.

Street said he grew up watching the Eagles. He played high school football at J.H. Rose in Greenville, N.C., also the alma mater of William "Lefty” Frizzell, who spent seven years playing safety for the Eagles in the 1980s and early 1990s.

"I've been watching these guys since I was a puppy,” he said. "Fletch and B.G. have been setting the standard for d-lineman for a long time now and having the opportunity to be in the building with these guys, going to practice, going to war with these guys? It’s gonna be huge.

"I think it's gonna add so much to my game. Just being able to pick their brain, see what they see, react on how they react, pass rush how they pass rush, try to add that to my game."

What about his name? Why "Street?"

We’re all finally getting used to calling Darius Slay "Slay” and now Street says he prefers being referred to by his last name as well.

"It's just simpler,” he said with a laugh. "And then a lot of people like to add on stuff to my last name. So I've had a lot of people call me Street Money, Super Street. They just add stuff to it.

"So I feel like it's a lot more to play with vs. Kentavius. Kentavius has a bunch of margin for error. So I try to avoid that.”

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/how-kentavius-street-always-knew-he-wanted-be-eagle