Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni confirmed he had a conversation with Kenneth Gainwell about the running back’s recent decision to interact with a fan on social media during the team’s Week 8 game against the Washington Commanders.
“Of course, we talked to Kenny about that,” Sirianni said, via NBC Sports. “These guys have some time away from us when we get into the locker room where they sit down at their locker. They do whatever is going to take their mind and just calm it. This is part of these guys’ lives, is some of that stuff.”
The Eagles were down 17-10 at the half. While in the locker room, Gainwell, who had fumbled with 6:48 remaining in the second quarter, decided to clap back at a fan who sent him a direct message about the fumble.
“He’s sitting at the locker,” Sirianni added. “Should he respond to somebody that’s DM’ing him? No, he shouldn’t respond to that guy or that girl at all. And so, yes, of course we talked to him about that, to be locked in and focused and not worried about outside noise.
“He knows he made a mistake responding back to that person, who I’m assuming is an Eagles fan and then took a snapshot and posted it. That’s a whole different set of issues if he’s an Eagles fan. I won’t even get into that.”
Kenneth Gainwell’s Social Media Interaction With a Fan, in a Nutshell
Eagles RB Kenny Gainwell is on his phone while the game is going on. #Eagles @jasrifootball @_MLFootball
Gainwell, who has 2 fumbles in 51 carries so far this year, received a direct message on Instagram from a fan that read: “Hold on to the ball you f****** bum.” His response? “Lil boy don’t text me.”
It was a curious choice for Gainwell to reply at all during a game, and naturally, it didn’t go over well on social media.
“Maybe instead of getting into insta fights he should work on running the ball,” one fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“If true, not a good look Kenny, c’mon man!” wrote another.
“And they take Deandre Swift (sic) out of the game on EVERY Red Zone possession for this clown,” another fan added.
The Eagles’ third-year RB has 153 yards and a touchdown through seven games this season. He’s averaging just 3.0 yards per carry and has difficulty to hold onto the ball. His recent struggles also have some wondering whether Boston Scott or Rashaad Penny could be moving up on Philadelphia’s depth chart.
Boston Scott & Rashaad Penny Remains Strong Options for Eagles
Eagles RB Targets and Target Shares in 2022:
Miles Sanders – 29 / 5.4%
Kenneth Gainwell – 26 / 4.9%
Boston Scott – 6 / 1.1%
Eagles RB Targets and Target Share through 6 games in 2023:
D’Andre Swift – 27 / 12.7%
Gainwell – 12 / 5.6%
Scott – 2 / 0.9%
Rashaad Penny – 1 / 0.5%
With Gainwell struggling, the Eagles have intriguing options in veterans Scott and Penny. The latter has been a healthy scratch several times this season, appearing in just one contest. Penny, a former first-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks in 2018, has dealt with injuries over his career, but has been effective when healthy. He’s healthy now.
Scott, who is in his sixth season with Philly, is averaging 5.6 yards per attempt this year in limited action. Penny has averaged 5.7 yards per rush over 43 career games. Both are far higher than Gainwell’s current 3.0 average.
If Gainwell continues to struggle, it’ll be interesting to see how long Sirianni and company wait to call Scott or Penny’s number.
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Eagles’ Nick Sirianni Says Team Talked to RB About Social Media ‘Mistake’