Getty Eagles WR Jalen Reagor has been struggling with drops, fumbles, and poor decision-making in 2021.
Jalen Reagor’s time as the lead kick returner could be coming to an end. The second-year receiver was benched after he badly misplayed a second-quarter kickoff, then fumbled a punt return. Reagor recovered the latter and gained 20 yards but it was an ugly play.
Boston Scott replaced him coming out of halftime but it was a short-lived substitution. The coaching staff just wanted to “take something off his plate,” according to Philadelphia Eagles special-teams coordinator Michael Clay. Reagor doesn’t appear in danger of losing the kick returner job due to a few bone-headed plays. In fact, Clay put the blame squarely on himself for not providing the appropriate hand signal.
“It’s one of those mistakes that we can’t have because we put the offense in a terrible situation,” Clay said of the misplayed kick return. “Luckily, they bailed us out with that big scoring drive right there. But it was one of those little mental lapses that, myself, I could be better at and just keep reminding him that, even if there’s a TV time-out, just to give him a hand signal just to back up right there. For the most part, it was a collective ‘FUBAR’ from the special teams standpoint there.”
Jalen Reagor’s day vs. the #Jets:
48 snaps on offense
5 snaps on special teams
1 reception for 7 yards
1 carry for no gain
1 muffed punt
1 kickoff return where he let the ball land at the one-yard line and then got tackled at the six
#FlyEaglesFly
Interesting. Reagor is averaging a meager 6.4 yards-per-return on 23 kickoffs, with a long of 22 yards. He’s been slightly better on punt returns where he’s at 21.3 yards-per-return on 12 punts. Important to remember: Reagor fumbled his first career punt return.
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Reagor’s Demotion Not Permanent One
Six different Eagles players have rotated on kick returns this season: Reagor, Scott, Quez Watkins, Greg Ward, Kenny Gainwell, John Hightower.
Get Jalen Reagor the hell off kick return duty. Stinks at it.
The Eagles’ best kick returner (Jason Huntley) is on their practice squad and they refuse to use him for some reason.
Reagor leads the pack with 12 opportunities, followed by eight chances for Watkins and one each for the rest. To be fair, no one has really stood out so it wasn’t shocking to hear Clay give Reagor a vote of confidence. He’s still the top option there.
“Probably not, I wouldn’t say permanent,” Clay said about Reagor’s benching. “We’re obviously all being evaluated, myself included. We’re going to go through the evaluation of everything, but Jalen, even the first one, he got to the 31-yard line, he brings some explosiveness. Everything’s kind of magnified on the returner in those situations, especially kickoff and punt return because, obviously, he’s the one catching the ball.”
Jake Elliott Furthers Pro Bowl Case
Meanwhile, kicker Jake Elliott has enjoyed a resurgence after a forgettable 2020 campaign. He notched four field goals against the New York Jets – 31 yards, 32 yards, 43 yards, 46 yards – and stretched his consecutive streak to 15. He’s connected on 22-of-24 field-goal attempts for a career-best 91.7% this season while hitting all 30 of his extra-point tries. Everything is clicking for the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month.
“Obviously things are clicking,” Elliott told reporters, via the Eagles’ website. “I’m just trying to strike the ball clean week in and week out, and trying to perfect the craft. I’m trying to have good foot to ball, good rotation, all of the nerdy stuff about kickers.”