The Eagles are in the heart of their offseason workout program and excitement levels are soaring. The 90-man roster is filled with potential, hunger, and talent. But not everyone can make the cut, and there are several players who start the proceedings with their backs to the wall.
Wendell Smallwood
It's a rarity to see a running back who has shown improvement year-on-year, be pushed down the depth chart before OTA's kick off, especially when there's no injury or hefty salary cap involved. Alas, Wendell Smallwood is fighting for his future.
The West Virginia product set a career-high in receiving yards last year, shedding the skin where catching the ball was formerly a weakness. He still had some areas to work on but as a change of pace back, Smallwood seemed to be ready to take another step forward going into 2019. The issue is, the Eagles traded for Jordan Howard and drafted Miles Sanders.
Smallwood, who rushed for 364 yards and 3 touchdowns last year, may not even make the roster this year. If the Eagles carry four running backs, Corey Clement and Josh Adams are lead contenders, with the formerly undrafted Boston Scott breathing down his neck. Each of the aforementioned brings something different to the table, while Smallwood just seems to be the odd man out.
It's important that Smallwood not only proves he can stay healthy after two years where injuries have ravaged the backfield during the offseason and regular season, but further builds on a strong base. After his rookie year, he started lowering his pads and stopped avoiding contact. In year three, his receiving skillset started to emerge. In year four, it's all or nothing.
Josh Sweat
The Eagles parted ways with Michael Bennett and Chris Long recently announced his retirement, meaning that second-year DE Josh Sweat is suddenly thrust into a prominent rotational role.
In his rookie year, Sweat was thrown into games to chew the clock, or inserted in long drives toward the end of them. We didn't really get a proper chance to see what he's capable of...but with a year of development under his belt, there is now undoubted pressure for the fourth-round selection out of FSU to step up.
Shareef Miller is waiting in the wings as a recently drafted rookie and Vinny Curry is back in the picture, only adding to the pressure. Sweat played in nine games for the Eagles last year before a season-ending ankle injury cut his progress short.
Sweat has a dominant athletic profile and plenty of upside, but how much of that is ready to be harnessed next season, and will he be able to shake off the injury tag?
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Timmy Jernigan
Jernigan doesn't appear to be a happy Bunny...and who can blame him? After his monster contract was eradicated and he was cut from the team after an offseason injury cost him the majority of 2018, the Super Bowl 52 champion came back to the Eagles on a deal worth just $1.5m. Ouch. But, he didn't have to sign...and he knew the situation when agreeing terms. If it's playing time he's unhappy about, he really does have a lot to prove.
The Eagles signed Malik Jackson during the offseason and notably traded for Hassan Ridgeway on day three of the NFL Draft. Snaps, it would seem, are going to be hard to come by from a man who was formerly a staple of the defensive line.
If Jernigan is healthy, then there's no questioning he deserves the monster payday he was once owed. But it's proving that he truly is, that's going to be the story of the offseason.
Sidney Jones
I wrote last week about how this is an 'all-or-nothing' season for Sidney Jones, and I stand by that. Drafted in the second-round of the NFL Draft after an Achilles injury at his pro day saw his stock plummet, Jones was supposed to be a diamond in the rough and an heir to the CB1 throne. In his second season after an impressive 2017 week 17 debut, he played as the starting nickel corner, with mixed success. Was the injury still nagging Jones, perhaps hurting his fluidity, or did the Eagles really want to ease him back into the fray? Either way, the season ended with yet another injury for Jones.
With such a talented cornerback group, Jones has to stand out. If we're talking about the nickel spot, Cre'Von LeBlanc and Avonte Maddox will both be pressuring him heavily throughout. If we're talking an outside role, the numbers only increase. It's not only imperative that Jones stays healthy, but that he can prove to the Eagles coaching staff that he's ready to step up.
At the end of the day, Darby and Mills are both free agents next year and the Eagles need to find the future of the cornerback position. if Jones can't be relied upon, this could be the beginning of a very problematic two seasons.
Cody Kessler
He's only just signed with the team, but the pressure is on for Cody Kessler. A former third-round pick of the Cleveland Browns, Kessler has played in 17 games in his three-year career, starting 12 (winning 2 games). Completing 64% of his passes, passing for 8 touchdowns and 5 picks, he has become somewhat of a game manager, which is what maybe led him to Jacksonville to begin with.
Kessler is very much a grading scale for Nate Sudfeld. We haven't seen Sudfeld start in a regular season NFL game just yet, but preseason signs have been encouraging. Kessler, at 25 years old, has over a full season's worth of starting experience and should be a fringe starter. But this is now catch 22.
If Sudfeld keeps his QB2 role (as expected), then is this not a knock on the career of a former third-round pick who in a black-and-white scenario, should outperform Sudfeld? Kessler has to rip up the preseason as an audition. If he can't show he's significantly better than the current Eagles backup, then his future as an NFL quarterback could be fairly limited. Why would a team take a shot on Kessler if he isn't good enough to beat out Sudfeld? That has to be the mentality here. Even if Sudfeld should have a lock on the QB2 spot, Kessler has to shine and steal the spotlight if he is to keep his reputation as a 'fringe starter' alive.
