Alshon Jeffery hasn’t taken a snap for the Eagles since Dec. 9, 2019. His stat line from that game: two targets, no catches, left in the second quarter with a foot injury. He’s been “trending in the right direction” for almost a month but a new calf injury has delayed his return. It’s getting near the point of no return for Jeffery in Philadelphia.
Patrik Walker of CBS Sports recently proposed the Eagles cut bait and send Jeffery packing to Green Bay in a trade. The Packers need some extra weapons for Aaron Rodgers who is devoid of reliable pass-catchers outside of Davante Adams. Walker went so far as to say: “Jeffery is no longer a fit with the organization” and the “relationship needs to finally come to an end.” He thinks the Eagles might be able to nab a conditional late-round pick from the Packers at the NFL trade deadline.
If things don’t work out in 2020 between Jeffery and the Packers, they can cut him and save $7.98 million in cap space. If things do work out, they’ll get several years of control of a Pro Bowl receiver with 6,671 receiving yards and 45 touchdowns on his resume, and in exchange for a 2021 flyer pick. It’s a high-ceiling, low-risk move that will force opposing defenses to account for more than Adams on a weekly basis.
The Packers are definitely calling around about WRs. No idea on specific targets, but have heard they are making plenty of calls. They came close to pulling the trigger on Robby Anderson last year. We’ll see if Gutekunst makes a move this time around.
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Eagles Explain Decision to Keep Jeffery on Roster
The one question that keeps getting asked each week Jeffery isn’t on the field is why didn’t the Eagles put him on the PUP list to start the year. It seemed like a no-brainer at the time. Free up a roster spot and let him heal up for six weeks.
On Friday, Doug Pederson reiterated that the team felt “optimistic” he’d be ready to go by Week 4 at the latest. He can’t speak in hypotheticals anymore.
“Listen before the season started, we were optimistic that he was going to play somewhere week four, week five,” the head coach said. “Listen, I would have loved to have him played against San Francisco or Pittsburgh or somebody, it just wasn’t there. I’m not going to go back and say, ‘What if?’ I mean, those are all hypothetical scenarios. But we are where we are right now today with him and he’s getting better and he’s getting healthy and like I said, I’m optimistic.”
The best-case scenario for Jeffery is that he’ll be back after the bye week. They would make him available on Nov. 15 for a divisional showdown against the Giants. Fingers crossed.
“But listen, we’ve got a little time with the bye coming up,” Pederson said. “And, listen, I’m optimistic now moving forward especially after the bye, hopefully, we get some guys back and he’s one of them.”
Eagles Officially Activate 5 Players
The rumored returns of five injured players are official. The Eagles activated LB T.J. Edwards, TE Dallas Goedert, S Rudy Ford, T Jason Peters, WR Jalen Reagor to the 53-man roster on Saturday. To make room, the team waived tight end Hakeem Butler, the converted wide receiver out of Iowa State. Philadelphia also elevated cornerback Michael Jacquet and defensive tackle Raequan Williams to the active roster.
Roster Moves: #Eagles have activated the following players to the 53-man roster: LB T.J. Edwards, TE Dallas Goedert, S Rudy Ford, T Jason Peters, and WR Jalen Reagor.
Eagles have waived TE Hakeem Butler.
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NFL Writer Predicts Eagles WR to Packers: ‘Relationship Needs to End’