Busy Day

Lots of news to cover today.

Eagles WR Alshon Jeffery is expected to miss at least the first two games of the season, but the team will activate him to the 53-man roster this weekend with optimism he could be back by week 3, per @mortreport and me.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 28, 2018

This isn’t great news, but it’s not the end of the world.

Jeffery needed offseason surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. It looks like the rehab from that is going to eat into the beginning of the season. The key here is to get Jeffery healthy for the long haul. You can adjust for a couple of games, but replacing him for an extended amount of time would be a major challenge.

When the season starts, Nelson Agholor will play in the slot and Mike Wallace on the outside, leaving AJ’s spot to fill. I don’t think the Eagles will look to one man to take his spot. Mack Hollins will likely get the most work. He’s big, like AJ, and got plenty of experience last year. Hollins had a quiet offseason, in part due to injury. Doug Pederson said he should be ready to go for next week.

Shelton Gibson has played well this summer. The coaches will want to mix him in. You hear about the NASCAR package on defense, when Jim Schwartz lines up a bunch of speed rushers on the DL. Why not have a NASCAR package on offense? Put your fastest receivers on the field together and run four verticals.

The coaches could also run more 2-TE sets, which only require a pair of wideouts. Getting Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert the ball is never a bad idea.

Another idea is to work Darren Sproles in the slot more than usual and only play two WRs at a time.

The point is that the Eagles have in-house options. They don’t have to hit the panic button and go sign a veteran off the street or make a desperate trade. That said, Howie Roseman is always looking to improve the roster. If the right player is available at the right price, never say never.

As for free agents, I can’t believe the Eagles would want anything to do with Dez Bryant. He’s too “Me before We”. Jeremy Maclin remains available, but would he be an upgrade on the guys already here?

*****

Watch live as #Eagles head coach Doug Pederson meets with the media. https://t.co/sTp49ZDkvv

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 28, 2018

Doug Pederson was back to being Nice Doug today. He didn’t get a ton of Carson Wentz questions and I’m sure that helped. Pederson did say that he thinks he’ll know who the Week 1 starting QB is on Friday. That makes it feel like Wentz.

If Pederson had doubts about Wentz’s health, you would think he would wait until Sunday or Monday…to give it as much time as possible. No guarantees here. I could be misreading this, but it seems like Wentz to me.

*****

Roster Move: #Eagles have signed TE Anthony Denham.#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/Z2v7J6Dje2

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 28, 2018

I don’t expect Ertz or Goedert to play on Thursday so the Eagles need bodies. Denham was with the team in the past and knows the offense. This gives him a chance to play a lot of snaps and put some tape out there.

We still don’t know what is going on at TE for the season. If Richard Rodgers is healthy, things are great. If he’s out a week or two, the team can get by. If Rodgers injury is serious, the team needs to find a #3 TE. Billy Brown will get a huge chance on Thursday to show what he can do. We’ll see about Josh Perkins.

I do not know if Denham could be a 2-week answer. I tend to think not.

I imagine the Eagles will be watching the waiver wire closely for TE help this weekend.

*****

The Eagles failing to trade for Marcus Mariota during the Chip Kelly failure is one of the best things that happened to their franchise in their history.

— Joe Dolan (@FG_Dolan) August 29, 2018

Wow. I haven’t really thought about that, but darn if it isn’t true.

Sometimes the best moves are the ones you don’t make.

_