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The Philadelphia Eagles have offered contracts to three important role players: wide receiver Greg Ward, running back Boston Scott, linebacker Alex Singleton. All three players were exclusive-rights free agents, meaning they could only negotiate with the team that originally signed them.
Ward, Scott, and Singleton are all expected to sign their one-year, league-minimum contracts and return to Philadelphia. The other option? They wouldn’t be eligible to play in the NFL next year. All three guys are restricted free agents after the 2021 campaign, so the team can evaluate them for one more season and decide whether to make a real commitment to them in 2022.
Ward has been a bright spot for the Eagles over the past two seasons while turning into a reliable, sure-handed slot receiver in Philly. He was extremely excited to catch passes from Jalen Hurts who he knew from his high school days in Texas. Ward hauled in Hurts’ first career touchdown pass in the NFL, too. He made 53 receptions for 419 yards last year and six scores while serving as the top punt returner.
Meanwhile, Scott has been a shifty, change-of-pace running back built in the diminutive image of Darren Sproles. He rushed 80 times for 374 yards in 2020, plus he caught 25 balls for 212 yards out of the backfield. He was also the team’s number one kick returner (21.1 yards per return).
And Singleton was arguably the best linebacker on the roster. He finished with 120 total tackles (75 solo) and sniped one interception which he returned 30 yards for a touchdown. He also recovered two fumbles, tallied two sacks, plus racked up seven quarterback hits. More importantly, Singleton raised $11,432 for Special Olympics Pennsylvania after donating money for each tackle he made to the organization. His sister, Ashley, is a Special Olympics athlete who suffers from Down syndrome.
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Marcus Mariota Rumors Swirl Around Eagles
When Heavy.com first put out the idea of the Eagles possibly making a move for Marcus Mariota, people thought we were crazy. Maybe we were the sanest people in the building. According to The Athletic’s Ben Standig, the Eagles are believed to be interested in Mariota if he is traded or released.
The former second overall pick in 2015 was once the apple of the franchise’s eye, many moons ago. Now the flirtation may resume. Standig wrote:
And, while Philadelphia wouldn’t seem like an obvious landing spot — Jalen Hurts remains, and Mariota and Carson Wentz are repped by the same agency — one prominent league source said to keep an eye on the Eagles if Mariota is traded or released.
Draft Jalen Hurts in Fantasy Football
One other fun note regarding an Eagles player comes from Pro Football Focus who analyzed Hurts’ rookie season from a fantasy football perspective. The analytics-driven website is very high on the dual-threat quarterback, saying he has “the chance to take fantasy leagues by storm in 2021.”
Hurts averaged 23.9 fantasy points per game, eighth-best among all quarterbacks, per Pro Football Focus, despite completing just 52% of his passes (worst out of 41 qualifiers). Here’s a deeper explanation of why Hurts might be a valuable flier in fantasy drafts:
His fantasy point totals weren’t fluky, either. He averaged 22.8 expected fantasy points per game, which also ranked third behind Allen and Kyler Murray from Weeks 14-16. The majority of Hurts’ fantasy scoring came from his astounding numbers as a rusher. He averaged 79.3 rushing yards and 12.6 rushes per game.
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