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I thought you had a full season with your dad?

The Eagles have signed safety Anthony Scirrotto, who worked out with the team on Monday afternoon, and have officially placed safety Antoine Harris on Injured Reserve.

Scirrotto, 23, was not drafted in 2009. He spent time that season on the Giants' practice squad, after initially signing with the Carolina Panthers as a rookie free agent.

The 6-foot, 202-pound Scirrotto was a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection at Penn State and had 61 tackles as a senior. He's a native of West Deptford, NJ.

Harris, signed during training camp, suffered a Lisfranc injury in Friday night's preseason game.

Eagles' Scirrotto Turns Down MLB for NFL Dream
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Posted: 3:45 p.m.

By Jordan Raanan
CSNPhilly.com Contributor

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – No. 47 took the field Tuesday in a white Eagles jersey, likely as the 80th man on the 80-man roster. To Anthony Scirrotto the football player, that didn't matter.

Scirrotto stayed at home in South Jersey for over a year, waiting for those phone calls from NFL teams, bypassing the opportunity to play professional baseball in hopes of making it in the sport he loves most. It doesn't even matter that his chances of making the Eagles are close to one in a million. At least he has a chance.

The former Penn State and West Deptford safety is just happy just to be in an NFL training camp. Happy to get a chance to play professional football.

So happy, in fact, that when he heard there would be one final opportunity to stick in the NFL, he went wild. And the added bonus? The chance would be with his hometown team. (Scirrotto idolized former Birds safety Brian Dawkins.)

"We went inside [after my workout Monday] and did physicals, and I guess that is when player personnel contacted my agent," Scirrotto said. "He texted me, and I had no idea. I hadn't talked to anyone. And he was just so excited, I started freaking out."

After a trouble-filled college career marred by his involvement in a brawl, Scirrotto was signed last year as an undrafted rookie by the Carolina Panthers. He was later released and spent part of the season on the Giants' practice squad. The St. Louis Rams brought him in for a workout this past offseason but did not offer him a contract.

So Scirrotto sat around and waited. Even though the former pitcher/shortstop had been drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 50th round of the 2009 MLB draft, he wanted to play football. Baseball was never a serious option.

"It comes down to this is my first priority – football," Scirrotto said. "It's the sport I loved the most since I was in high school and in youth programs. Baseball is a great opportunity for me, but it's pretty much the backup plan of backup plans."

Scirrotto recently had a conversation with his family about his future. If nothing happened by the end of the summer, he would return to college and get his degree. Clearly, with the NFL dream fading and the MLB opportunity pretty unrealistic – Scirrotto hadn't played baseball since high school – a contingency plan was needed. Time was ticking, NFL training camps were underway and Scirrotto was without an invite.

"I had my doubts, especially because I went a long time without having a workout or even a look," he said. "My agent called me and said this could be my last opportunity as far as getting me a chance. I knew at that point I had to do whatever I could to get out here."

And he did, showing enough during his workout Monday to earn a training camp invite. The Eagles entertained three other potential candidates since learning safety Antoine Wright was going to be placed on injured reserve this week. They needed another body at the position.

For Scirrotto, winning that spot is already an accomplishment. It gives Scirrotto one more chance to chase that dream of being a professional football player.

"As long as I'm out here, I'm playing and I'm participating, it doesn't matter if I'm practicing or active," he said. "I just love being around the guys. I love being in this atmosphere. I just love this game. As long as I'm participating, as long as I'm around, I'm not even thinking about baseball."

For however long it lasts, it's all about football.

“There were way too many penalties, period,” Reid said. “We have to be way more disciplined than that. Normally we are, but again that falls on me and I have to take care of that.”