Getty Corey Clement has a chance to be the lead Eagles running back.
Corey Clement’s rookie year was one for the record books and there’s mounting evidence it wasn’t a fluke.
Clement has been saddled with injuries since 2017 to the tune of missing 12 games in 2019, plus sitting out five games in 2018. He ended both seasons on injured reserve while undergoing unfortunate knee and shoulder surgeries. The 25-year-old has been turning heads and breaking ankles so far at training camp, though. Clement looks fresh and rejuvenated, causing the Eagles’ starting running back to predict big things in 2020.
“Corey looks explosive. He looks like Super Bowl Corey to me,” Miles Sanders told reporters.
The former undrafted rookie free agent out of Wisconsin will have his work cut out for him to make the final roster. Sanders is entrenched as the starter, with do-everything utility back Boston Scott sure to see an increased role. Clement will have to fend off charges from veteran Elijah Holyfield and rookies Adrian Killins and Michael Warren II this summer. Make no mistake, he’s ready.
“I’m coming in as a guy who has got the rookie mindset again,” Clement told reporters back in April. “I want to be here. I want to retire here one day. This team means a lot me.”
Roster Move: #Eagles have agreed to terms with RB Corey Clement on a one-year contract.
No one will ever forget what Clement did in Super Bowl LII. His 100 receiving yards were the fourth-most for a rookie in NFL history. He racked up the second-most all-purpose yards (1,367) for a first-year player in Eagles history. And Clement’s eight offensive touchdowns are the most for any Eagles running back since 2017.
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Clement Back on One-Year ‘Prove It’ Contract
When the Eagles announced they had signed Clement to a one-year deal back in late April, not many people knew what to expect. His recent injury history is well-documented but Clement will always be a fan favorite due to his pivotal role in the famed “Philly Special” play, arguably the most famous trick play in Super Bowl history.
Just noticed this on the Philly Special: As Nick Foles is stepping up to the line to pretend to kill the play, Corey Clement subtly puts his right arm up and changes his facial expression, as if to say “What is he doing?”
Clement has struggled with injuries since that defining moment. He played in 11 games in the 2018 campaign before a knee injury shut him down for the year, then saw action in just four games in 2019 after a shoulder injury forced him onto injured reserve.
He had been relegated to special teams last year as a punt and kickoff returner and coughed up two costly fumbles. Clement has accumulated 259 rushing yards on 68 carries over the past two seasons. Now he’s back on a “prove-it” type of one-year contract worth $825,000, per Spotrac.
“When I first found out the news that they weren’t going to tender me, I took it to heart a little bit, because Philly is home to me,” Clement said, via The Inquirer. “I love the city with everything; if I could bleed green, I would. When it comes to a time where it’s business, I understand, but now I can only look forward because I’m back being an Eagle.”
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