Getty Eagles All-Pro center Jason Kelce may have provided Jacksonville some bulletin-board material heading into Week 4.
No one needs a bye week more than Jason Kelce and the All-Pro center finally gets one in Week 14. The Philadelphia Eagles are off for the next six days as head coach Nick Sirianni stressed letting his players “get their bodies right.”
Believe or not the team controls its own destiny with four games left. All of them are divisional matchups: vs. Washington (Dec. 19), vs. New York Giants (Dec. 26), at Washington (Jan. 2), vs. New York Giants (Jan. 9). Their biggest playoff obstacle may be staying healthy, but the injury report is trending upward.
Sirianni revealed “positive news” on Kelce who has been battling a sore right knee. He limped off the field after the second-to-last offensive play, his 70th snap of the afternoon. He first injured the leg in Week 12 against the Giants and fought to get back in the game in what has become a legendary test of toughness. Ultimate warrior Kelce should be good to go after the bye week, according to Sirianni.
“Everybody holds their breath when something like that happens to Jason,” Sirianni told reporters. “Got good, positive news back on him today [Dec. 6]. So, I’m not going to put a timetable on anybody, as you guys know, but we’re hopeful after the bye, he’ll be ready to go.”
Who needs a bye week? Jason Kelce needs a bye week.
Ditto for running back Jordan Howard (knee), linebacker Patrick Johnson (back), and cornerback Steven Nelson (shoulder). All three guys should be good to go. Sirianni provided no new update on right guard Brandon Brooks (chest), only saying that he would have “more information” after the bye week.
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Sirianni Responds to C.J. Mosley’s Comments
New York Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley caused a stir on Sunday when he accused the Eagles of skipping out on pre-game handshakes, then laughing at head coach Robert Saleh. He was “pissed off” about a perceived lack of respect. Well, Fletcher Cox trolled him a bit on Instagram with a picture of the two of them embracing.
“I did like Fletch’s response to that they didn’t shake hands, well at least they hugged before the game,” Sirianni said. “So, I thought that was clever by Fletch.”
Nick Sirianni and Robert Saleh having some pre-practices laughs and such. #Eagles
Sirianni went on to say that the Eagles “respect the Jets” and he would never want to tarnish the relationship he has with Saleh. Remember, the two teams held joint practices during training camp in New Jersey. He’d like to do that again.
“But we respect the Jets. I do believe we respect every opponent we play. I have a ton of respect for Coach Saleh and the job he’s doing. I want to continue to have that relationship with him.”
No Injury Designation for DeVonta Smith
DeVonta Smith saw his lowest percentage of snaps this season in Week 13. He saw 44 snaps, or 62% of the total offensive snaps. He was surprisingly out-snapped by fellow (less accomplished?) wideouts Jalen Reagor (48, 68%) and Quez Watkins (55, 77%). The numbers didn’t seem to add up, but Sirianni chalked it up to using more 13-personnel and leaning on Reagor in those sets.
“Not going to apologize,” Sirianni said. “We didn’t punt until the last series of the game and so that’s just the way it went that game and that’s the flow sometimes. So, that’s kind of why it went that way, though.
#Eagles snap counts vs. Jets:
While Eagles fans weren’t too keen on those extra snaps for Reagor, the good news is that Smith isn’t hurt. They just didn’t feature him as much against the Jets.
“He’s good. He’s feeling good,” Sirianni said. “Be good to get a bye week there to get him even more rested and see him be even faster coming back off the bye.”
“DeVonta Smith is too small to play in the NFL”