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The Philadelphia Eagles‘ depth at running back may force Trey Sermon off of the 53-man roster.
ESPN’s Tim McManus projected that the former third-round pick would be left off of the 53-man roster. McManus predicted that four running backs — D’Andre Swift, Rashaad Penny, Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott — will make the opening day roster.
“Fantasy football players will be eager to see how the rotation shakes out among this intriguing bunch,” McManus wrote in late July, before the start of training camp. “The big question, as always, is if Penny can stay healthy enough to assume a significant role. Trey Sermon has drawn consistent praise from coach Nick Sirianni and is waiting in the wings should an opportunity present itself.”
Why Trey Sermon Faces Uphill Battle in Making Eagles’ Roster
The prediction isn’t exactly surprising. Swift was one of the Eagles’ major acquisitions of the offseason when they acquired him in a draft day trade with the Detroit Lions. He’s expected to compete with Rashaad Penny — the Eagles’ other big offseason acquisition — for the starting running back job.
Meanwhile, Gainwell emerged as the Eagles’ best running back during last year’s playoffs, out-gaining former starter Miles Sanders 181 to 148 in total rushing yards. His postseason performance was punctuated with a 112-yard outing in a blowout playoff win over the New York Giants.
Lastly, Scott has been with the Eagles since 2018 and has served as a key reserve since the 2019 season. He also plays the role of returner, having returned 15 kickoffs for 406 yards (27.1 yards per return) last season.
That could leave Sermon — who appeared in just two games with the Eagles after being claimed off waivers at the start of the 2022 season — on the outside looking in.
Nick Sirianni Compliments Trey Sermon: ‘Excited About Him’
The 24-year-old Sermon began his career as a draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers back in 2021. He actually started a couple of games for the team (Weeks 3 and 4) following a season-ending injury to then-starter Raheem Mostert. In his two starts during the season, Sermon gained 120 yards on 29 carries and one touchdown. In other words, he actually gained a respectable 4.0 yards per carry. However, it was fellow rookie Elijah Mitchell who ended up taking over the Niners’ starting running back position for the remainder of the season.
After appearing in just 18% of the offensive snaps of the nine games he appeared in during his rookie season, he was essentially left out of the Eagles’ game plan for the 2022 season, playing just eight offensive snaps in two games.
Despite the team’s depth at running back, head coach Nick Sirianni actually singled out Sermon’s talents during the NFL’s annual league meetings back in March.
Via John McMullen of Sports Illustrated:
“Trey Sermon, I’m really excited about him,” Sirianni told reporters. “Trey didn’t get an opportunity to showcase his talents except for that game against Jacksonville [last season]. … But I can’t tell you how many times at practice he made a cut or you just saw him in his pads or he made a play on a screen or whatever it was and you’re like, ‘Man, this guy has a chance to be really good.’”
While Sermon has a chance of potentially sticking around on the Eagles’ practice squad, the two big offseason acquisitions (Swift and Penny), along with the team’s two holdovers (Gainwell and Scott), makes it unlikely that Sermon cracks the 53-man roster.
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