Getty Sidney Jones and Rasul Douglas may be on the trading block after disappointing tenures in Philly.
No surprises here: Sidney Jones and Rasul Douglas have both been mentioned in trade rumors.
The two reserve cornerbacks were part of the 2017 Eagles’ Super Bowl championship team, with Douglas actually seeing five starts during that epic run. Jones has endured a much more disappointing tenure in Philly as the former second-round pick has been plagued by injuries.
Both players are squarely on the roster bubble, but NFL Insider Albert Breer included their names in a list of “guys raised in trade talks.” Again, it’s not a shocking development considering the numbers crunch at the cornerback position in Philly.
The Eagles only kept five corners last year and the team already has five locks to make the final 53-man roster: Darius Slay, Avonte Maddox, Nickell Robey-Coleman, Cre’Von LeBlanc, Craig James. That leaves Jones and Douglas to fight it out for a potential sixth spot. Remember, the team parted ways with Trevor Williams and Michael Jacquet on Friday.
Cutdown’s tomorrow. Here are guys raised in trade talks …
• Bills WR Robert Foster
• Panthers WR Seth Roberts
• Bills TE Jason Croom
• Jets C Jonathan Harrison
• Saints DL Sheldon Rankins
• Eagles CB Rasul Douglas
• Eagles CB Sidney Jones
• Washington OLB Ryan Anderson
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Any Trade Value for Either Player?
The question is, do either Jones or Douglas have any value on the open market? Douglas was a seventh-round pick in 2017 and saw meaningful snaps — 1,549 defensive snaps in three seasons — while showing upside as a potential cornerback-safety hybrid. Plus, the 25-year-old recently restructured his contract to save cap space. The Eagles might want to keep him around.
On 💰 downs, Eagles rookie Rasul Douglas has been a shutdown CB when targeted deep
Meanwhile, Jones entered training camp in a battle for the No. 2 cornerback spot opposite Slay, then injuries shut him out of the competition. He’s still young (24) and maybe a team would take a flier on a project player who was ranked as the fifth-best cornerback in the 2017 draft coming out of college.
Eagles defensive backs coach Marquand Manuel evaluated Jones and Douglas last month and gave an honest critique of their skillsets. Manuel seemed to question Douglas’ commitment level while praising his competitiveness.
“One of the things about Rasul is he wants to know why. As a coach, I like to mention that we have the why,” Manuel told reporters on Aug. 19. “But he is a good competitor, one of the things that we talked about — what is your level of commitment? Being diligent in what you’re being asked to do. Down in and down out. We just don’t make things up so you make sure you understand that you have to be diligent as far as what I play in technique, how hard I play and so now I can go and look back and evaluate myself.”
Cordarrelle Patterson just cooked Sidney Jones
Manuel’s assessment of Jones was even more direct, pointing out three specific things he told the young corner to work on. Did he do it? Maybe not.
“Be accountable. Compete daily. And be willing to learn,” Manuel said. “If you consistently do those three things in this league, then you can have success. Everyone’s skillset is different. We all understand that. You guys understand that. I also understand that. However, how can you implement now what do you do great? We can’t be great at everything but we can work at things that we know we can get better at. Practice it until I get it wrong. Confidence goes a long way in this league in no matter what you do.”
Now Jones and Douglas find themselves in odd situations: two Super Bowl champions on the roster bubble. Hopefully, they find a long-term home — whether that’s in Philadelphia or elsewhere.
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