E.J. the Eagle: Andover's Perry signs free-agent NFL deal with Philadelphia

May 5—ANDOVER — The roar from the 200 or so family members, friends, teammates and coaches came a bit later than many expected or hoped. The joy expressed for E.J. Perry IV was nonetheless deafening.

Seconds after the 262nd and last pick of the 2022 NFL was announced on ESPN Saturday, Perry emerged from the family home and screamed, "Let's go, Eagles!"

The former Andover High legend and 2021 Brown University grad saw his dream grow into a National Football League reality, agreeing to a priority free-agent deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.

"I'm just excited. It should be awesome," said Perry, who dealt with the uncertainty of the NFL Draft all day long with his usual calm demeanor and steady hand.

"I knew at the end of the day, there would be an opportunity and I'm just excited for it. Teams were calling me the entire seventh round, making a plan in case I didn't get my name called. I had a bunch of teams call me and make offers. I thought (Philly) had a great situation to make the team and a great organization, a great coaching staff, and I'm excited to learn."

Perry, who injected himself into the NFL picture with an MVP performance at the East-West Shrine All-Star Game back in February and saw his stock continue to rise with some eye-popping work at the NFL Combine, will now get the opportunity as a pro with an Eagles team that features starter Jalen Hurts and backup Gardner Minshew. In addition to Perry, Philly also signed rookie free agent Carson Strong out of the University of Nevada.

The Eagles were very active through the process with Perry.

"They came to my pro day. I had a good meeting with them, it went well," Perry said. "I learned a little bit of the system in our meeting. It should be good. I'm excited to learn way more of it and really master it.

"Right now, I sit and wait. When they tell me to go out there, I go out there. I'll just try to stay prepared, get in shape for what is going to come and be ready."

It was quite a gathering at the family home on Saturday as the well-wishers tried to ease the stress of the process, a process that admittedly wore on Perry's dad, E.J. III.

"He's gotten to know all these quarterbacks, and when some of them were gone, you just thought, 'It might have been you,'" said the proud papa. "What people don't understand is that he went to Foxborough at 6 a.m. to work out this morning. He was honest when he went on (the NFL Network's Good Morning Football show) and said 'I'm going to be better tomorrow than I am today.' He'll be back down in Foxborough tomorrow, working out again.

"When he gets the opportunity in Philly, I just think he's going to take full advantage of it."

Perry IV was clearly touched and humbled by the support and outpouring of love showed by the folks gathered.

"Everyone here has made an impact and I'm really happy to share it with them," he said. "It's a great moment to share, more importantly it's going to be a great opportunity."

Perry's coach at Brown, his uncle James Perry, stood proudly and watched as Bears teammate after teammate congratulated E.J. when the news broke.

Clearly, the QB had left his mark there.

"I'm happy. I'll be an Eagle fan for sure now. I've told everybody, he's going to make the team," said James.

"We all support each other. E.J. is really a good kid. He's my nephew, and everyone loves him. The Perrys are a tight clan. He's a unique kid even amongst our family, a unique talent, a unique worker.

"That's why I can so confidently say, now moving forward, he's going to make it at that next level."