Medical Shakeup

Injuries have overwhelmed the Eagles the past two seasons. Instead of winning double-digit games and looking like a championship contender, the Eagles have had to fight and claw their way into the playoffs using guys off the street and players off the practice squad.

You love to see underdog players showing heart and coming up big in tough situations.

You know what would be even better? Watching star players dominate.

The Eagles know something has to change. Part one is having a younger roster.

Howie Roseman

“We need to infuse youth in this team. It's a great lesson. I think you have to let young players play. We have to allow these young players to grow, get some experience. Just the energy they injected into the team and obviously the production that they had” pic.twitter.com/iV1MqLcJpZ

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) January 8, 2020

They have had a habit of bringing back veterans in recent years. Some of these guys are Hall of Fame candidates. It is easy to see why coaches and the front office would want Jason Peters and Darren Sproles re-signed. You can see why the Eagles would want to target DeSean Jackson in free agency.

That has to change. The roster must get younger.

Jackson looked great in the season opener and then missed almost the rest of the season. Peters play declined and he missed some snaps due to injury in multiple games. Sproles has only played in 15 games over the past three years. These players are leaders and legends. There are countless memories of their glory days. But you must move on.

Young players can get injured too (Joe Ostman, Corey Clement and Kamu Grugier-Hill for example). But young players aren’t as likely to get hurt. They are also cheaper.

The Eagles are doing more than just focusing on youth. They are also making changes to the medical staff.

Jeff McLane wrote a good piece on the situation.

I have no idea if this is a good thing or not. I’m not going to pretend to understand the complexities of the sports medicine department for an NFL team.

I do think the Eagles had to do something. Over the past two years, injuries just got out of control. There is definitely some bad luck in that situation, but not all of it was luck. Too many players had injuries that lingered longer than expected. There were multiple guys who had seemingly minor injuries that turned out to be far worse.

Put simply, something wasn’t working.

Making changes won’t suddenly mean the Eagles will stay completely healthy. Guys are going to get hurt no matter who is on the medical staff. You do hope that injury situations run smoother and that there doesn’t seem to be as much confusion.

I will say this. Things are more complicated than ever when it comes to players and medical issues. Trent Williams wasn’t happy with the treatment he got from the Skins medical staff and has refused to play for them again. The team failed to take a medical condition of his as seriously as they should have. OL Kelechi Osemele had an injury dispute with the Jets and the team ended up cutting him.

Players are getting more and more medical advice from outside sources. This can be a good thing in the case of Williams, but you have to wonder if it leads to problems with some other players. Had DeSean Jackson opted for surgery immediately, there is a good chance he would have returned before the end of the regular season.

If the Eagles can make good hires to fill out their medical staff, that would be a great way to get the offseason going.

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