Waived by the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoff field on Jan. 2, linebacker Nicholas Morrow was picked up by the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoff field on Tuesday.

The Philadelphia Eagles signed Morrow for their practice squad after losing linebacker Nakobe Dean to a knee injury during Sunday’s 22-10 victory over the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the NFC playoffs.

In 2023, Morrow started 12 regular-season games and one playoff contest for Philadelphia. The Huntsville High School alumnus made 93 tackles and played 82 percent of the Eagles’ defensive snaps.

Morrow signed as an NFL free agent with the Buffalo Bills in March. In 11 games with Buffalo this season, Morrow was on the field for 44 defensive snaps and 182 special-teams plays. The Bills waived Morrow on Dec. 7, re-signed him on Dec. 24 and waived him again nine days later.

The Eagles play the Los Angeles Rams at 2 p.m. CST Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia in a Divisional Round game.

After placing Dean on injured reserve on Tuesday, Philadelphia is expected to use Oren Burks and rookie Jeremiah Trotter Jr. to fill his spot alongside All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun.

Each NFL team can elevate two members of its practice squad to active status for each game.

Morrow’s return to Philadelphia continued his unlikely NFL career.

At Huntsville, Morrow played mostly in the offensive line until moving to outside linebacker as a senior in 2012. That season, the Panthers went 7-5 and won a first-round game in the AHSAA Class 6A playoffs against Florence 37-19.

With no scholarship offers, Morrow went to NCAA Division III Greenville University to study biology and play football. At Greenville, Morrow had 222 tackles, 38 tackles for loss, four fumble recoveries and three interceptions in 34 games.

As a second-team selection on the American Football Coaches Association’s NCAA Division III All-American team, he became Greenville’s first All-American in 2016, when he was the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a hybrid safety/linebacker.

Morrow did more than play defense at Greenville. He had 26 yards and two touchdowns on four rushing attempts, caught a 19-yard pass and returned 11 kickoffs. As a senior against Minnesota-Morris, Morrow ran for a TD as a wildcat quarterback, made his only career reception, intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble.

Morrow became the first Greenville alumnus to play in the NFL when he began his pro career as an undrafted rookie in 2017 with the Oakland Raiders.

Las Vegas moved to keep Morrow in the 2020 offseason, using a second-round tender on him when he was a restricted free agent. Morrow had been scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in 2021, but he signed a one-year deal with the Raiders again, then missed the entire campaign after having surgery for an ankle injury sustained in training camp.

Morrow joined the Chicago Bears as a free agent in 2022. He played every Bears’ defensive snap and led the team with 116 tackles before leaving for Philadelphia as a free agent in the offseason.

Morrow has played in 105 regular-season games and one playoff contest in seven NFL seasons.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.