Coming and Going and Moving

Posted: August 14th, 2019 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Coming and Going and Moving

Another day, another move.

Hassan Ridgeway got hurt in the game last week and still isn’t practicing. Shittu knows the scheme so he can jump right in and help in Thursday’s game. Shittu also is a versatile player, with the ability to help at DE and DT.

Countess was expected to be a backup DB and key STer. He got hurt in the preseason opener and that’s why he was cut. The Eagles could always talk to him about re-signing after the season starts. For now, this is good news for Johnathan Cyprien, Tre Sullivan and Deiondre’ Hall. Their odds of making the team just went up.

Gibson has been a disappointment since being drafted. He has helped on STs, but hasn’t done squat as a receiver. Maybe the Eagles will give him another chance down the line.

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Army OT Brett Toth is trying to get permission to sign with the Eagles. Domo has the story.

Toth was at the 2018 Senior Bowl and impressed me. Here is one nugget I wrote on him.

Army OT Brett Toth had a strong showing. He absolutely stoned a couple of DEs trying to beat him in 1-on-1 drills. There was another rep where Toth shoved Jalyn Holmes to the ground. Toth did get off-balance on one play and the DE put him on the ground. Toth spent the vast majority of his college career as a run blocker. He’s shown the ability to pass protect and run block so far in Mobile.

Toth is 6-6, 291 and the kind of interesting prospect the Eagles love to get their hands on. It will be interesting to see if the Army lets him join the Eagles.

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Domo had one more good nugget in his column.

Donnel Pumphrey, who already is a long shot to make the Eagles’ season-opening 53-man roster, has a new position. Pumphrey has been moved from running back to wide receiver.

He said he was informed of the position switch Saturday, after the Eagles’ first preseason game against Tennessee.

I like it. Pump wasn’t going to make the team as a RB. That was clear. The Eagles backup WRs were underwhelming last week. Move Pump there to give him a shot and to see if he can add something to the receiver group.

A jerk might point out that Pump couldn’t be any worse than Shelton Gibson. Thankfully, I’m not a jerk.

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Here are Jimmy Bama’s practice notes. They are practically a love letter to Nelson Agholor. Get a room, you two.

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Jeff McLane had an interesting observation.

Installation periods can be relatively uneventful, but one thing I noticed Tuesday was that Halapoulivaati Vaitai was at right tackle, ahead of Mailata, in place of the injured Lane Johnson (knee). Malaita has been filling in for Johnson during team drills, but with Brandon Brooks (Achilles) cleared for installation periods, Big V was no longer needed at right guard.

Safety Rodney McLeod and center Jason Kelce returned to practice after taking vet days Monday. McLeod was held out of team drills. Defensive end Daeshon Hall (shoulder) was also back in action. The Eagles waived injured safety Blake Countess (hamstring) and signed defensive tackle Aziz Shittu.

Big V getting time at RT? That makes sense. Andre Dillard looks to be the backup LT. You might as well have Big V play some RT in case he’s needed there. Jordan Mailata has tremendous potential, but I would be very nervous if he had to protect Carson Wentz in a real game.

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There was a lot of speculation on Twitter about the Eagles possibly trading for DE Jadeveon Clowney.

Clowney got the franchise tag from the Texans. The two sides aren’t anywhere close to a deal and Clowney hasn’t reported to camp. With no real GM in place, coach Bill O’Brien is running the franchise and hasn’t handled this situation well.

Would the Texans deal Clowney?

They wouldn’t have great bargaining power, so you might get a good deal out of this. The trick is that Clowney can’t sign a contract extension until after the season so there is risk. You might just get him for a year.

I’m sure Howie Roseman will kick around the idea, but I doubt anything comes of it. The Eagles have to be careful with their spending and their resources. They need cheap talent in the future to offset Wentz’s big raise.

That said, if you could get the Texans to accept a lesser deal, adding Clowney would be a way to significantly upgrade your team.

Fun to consider, but not likely to happen.

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