Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 8/31/21.

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Columnist to Colts: Send ‘selfish’ Carson Wentz packing, because he’s ‘the worst of the bunch’ - NJ.com
Doyel left the most vicious of his attacks for Wentz to close out the column. “Carson Wentz is the worst of the bunch, in a football sense, because he’s the most important player on the team. He’s the most indispensable player on roster, and the Colts have no idea if he’ll make it through any given week without having to go back onto the COVID-19 list simply for being too close to a teammate who tests positive. I’ll remind you that, when the Colts acquired Wentz, I defended his arrival despite the reports out of Philadelphia that had called him a bad teammate. And selfish. Well what do you know. Turns out, Carson Wentz is a bad teammate. He’s selfish. Turns out he fits right into this Colts locker room.”

Carson Wentz, Ryan Kelly, Zach Pascal end up on Reserve/COVID-19 list - Stampede Blue
Once again, another round of unvaccinated players from the Indianapolis Colts are having a negative impact on the team. After Eric Fisher and Quenton Nelson first joined the Reserve/COVID-19 list last week, now three more key starters have joined them: Carson Wentz, Ryan Kelly and Zach Pascal. The main takeaway here is that all of these players are unvaccinated. Also, on the defensive side, Darius Leonard and Julian Blackmon are the notable players unvaccinated. Indianapolis has one of the worst vaccination rates in the NFL, and it could lower once the 53-man roster is finalized. With five projected starters recently hit with NFL health and safety protocols, it throws a loop into how the Colts can begin preparations for their regular season opener against the Seattle Seahawks.

Kyle Shanahan Has Experience Toggling Between Two Offenses - MAQB
The widely-held assumption that Carson Wentz hasn’t been vaccinated was confirmed on Monday, as he landed on the COVID-19 reserve list as a close contact (vaccinated players don’t get shelved as a result of being close contacts). He’ll be eligible to return to the team on Thursday, and that timing actually works out for the Colts in that it should give Wentz time to get rehab work in and get back on track to try and play in the opener on Sept. 13. But it certainly should be taken as a warning sign on what having your quarterback unvaccinated might mean for teams. Fast-forward a week, and Wentz would be returning to the team on the back end of its preparation for the opener against Seattle. Fast-forward another week, and the Colts would be losing Wentz with almost no notice for that opener.

Eagles roster cuts tracker: rumors, news, updates, trades, and more - BGN
2021 NFL roster cuts are underway. The Philadelphia Eagles — along with 31 other teams — have until 4:00 PM Eastern on Tuesday, August 31 to get their roster down to the regular season 53-player limit. Stay tuned to this thread for lives updates on Eagles cuts, trades, news, rumors, and more. The Eagles likely won’t officially confirm their roster moves until Tuesday afternoon but some of their cuts will slowly leak out through media reports before then. Hence the purpose of this tracker!

FROM THE SB NATION NFL SHOW: Was trading for Gardner Minshew the best move for Philly? - BGN Radio
The SB Nation NFL Show brings together the greatest fan-alysts from across SB Nation’s NFL team communities in one place for the first time ever. Expect deep analysis, irreverent jokes, and plenty of bickering between rivals. It’s a show for NFL fans, by NFL fans.

Eagles reportedly ‘taking calls’ on offensive line, linebacker depth - PhillyVoice
Andre Dillard: The Eagles don’t have much use for Dillard, since (a) they have a much better starting LT in Jordan Mailata, (b) Dillard can’t play any positions other than LT, and (c) the Eagles have other players who are capable backups at LT. After an awful start to his career and a bad 2021 training camp, a new start for Dillard in a different city would be best for all parties involved. Perhaps someone will like his athleticism and think they can mold him into the lineman the Eagles thought they were getting when they took him in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Roster Moves - Iggles Blitz
Dillard is the big name to watch. Teams needing LT help will be calling the Eagles to see what the cost for him is. The Eagles can deal him if they want since Mailata has established himself as the starter and Brett Toth showed he could play LT this summer. Le’Raven Clark is also in the mix. The Eagles could hold onto Dillard to see if a contender has to deal with an OT injury during the year. That’s when Dillard might be his most valuable. We’ll just have to wait and see how things play out.

Top 10 rookie performances in NFL preseason Week 3 - PFF
8. ED Tarron Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles. Jackson may have been quiet in the first couple of preseason games, but he broke out in a big way against the Jets. He registered five pressures as well as a forced fumble on 25 pass-rushing snaps for a 90.5 pass-rushing grade. The Coastal Carolina product thrives as a power player and was taking the Jets’ backups to task. He has an uphill climb to playing time on a loaded front, but he did his best to secure a roster spot with his performance Friday.

NFL Rank 2021 rejects: What happened with Jacksonville Jaguars, Philadelphia Eagles? - ESPN
Why the Eagles didn’t have a player on ESPN’s 2021 NFL Rank: The Eagles deserve zero accolades, individual or otherwise, coming off last season. Did you watch them play? Their four-win campaign was so bad it ended with the only Super Bowl-winning coach in franchise history, Doug Pederson, getting fired, and one-time franchise quarterback Carson Wentz being shipped out. The offensive line was so banged up, it set an NFL record with 13 iterations in the first 14 weeks. Eagles quarterbacks were sacked 65 times. Their leading wide receiver, Travis Fulgham, finished with 539 yards. The defense managed eight interceptions, third worst in the NFL. Do I need to go on? The Eagles were terrible, and it dragged everyone’s individual value down in the voting process.

An important first step back for Rodney McLeod, Landon Dickerson - PE.com
Dickerson worked at the center position during the portion of practice open to the media, but there has been no word from the coaching staff on the plans for where Dickerson might play when it is time for him to compete for playing reps. Dickerson is open to whatever the coaches have in mind, but he’s really just been focused on the “1-percent better” mantra that head coach Nick Sirianni has stressed from the moment he arrived.

Thielen, Sanders lead names to shy away from - NBC Sports Edge
Miles Sanders - RB - PHI. Sanders is a talented young back who is being drafted as if he’s a decrepit veteran. With an ADP of RB20 he can be had in the rounds where drafters were selecting Todd Gurley, Le’Veon Bell and Leonard Fournette (it’s unclear if these 2020 ADPs were a bit, we’re still looking into it). Sanders isn’t on his last legs and he won’t end up on a new team this season. So why isn’t he a breath of fresh air in the “dead zone”? Sanders finished RB21 in 2020 despite finishing as RB7 in snap percentage. The new coaching staff seems to be emphasizing the importance of RB screens and short throws. That could be quite good for Sanders, provided he’s on the field for those plays. The problem is that Sanders has not been good as a receiver. He has a career yards per route run of just 1.13 and is coming off a horrific 0.67 last season. If Boston Scott (career YPRR of 1.41) and Kenneth Gainwell (led all rookie RBs in career YPRR) are playing ahead of Sanders in the passing game, it’s a major concern. Sanders has paths to successfully defending his snap dominance, but even in those outcomes he needs to be much more efficient as a receiver to hit big on his current ADP. If Gainwell and Scott eat into his passing down snaps on the other hand, the opportunity cost of selecting Sanders will be far too high.

Here Are Your Food and Drink Options at Lincoln Financial Field, Home of the Eagles - Eater
What’s New This Year: Love and Honey Fried Chicken, Section 108. The Northern Liberties fried chicken destination has its own stand at the Linc this year, serving buttermilk-fried chicken tenders, cornbread and honey butter, and housemade sauces to go alongside the whole meal. Note that if you try to get Love and Honey anywhere else but an Eagles game on game day, you’ll strike out: the staff is working every home game this season and staying closed on Front Street those days.

Evan Engram injury update: Giants’ tight end headed for tests after suffering apparent calf injury - Big Blue View
New York Giants coach Joe Judge hinted on Monday that tight end Evan Engram, who left Sunday’s preseason game against the New England Patriots with what was called a calf injury, might miss some time. Judge said that Engram was headed for tests “to kind of measure the severity of whatever it [the injury] may be.” Engram looked despondent on the bench when he was checked by trainers Sunday after suffering the injury. “We’ll have to see where he’s at in terms of how we manage him,” Judge said in reference to whether or not Engram would be available for the Sept. 12 season opener vs. the Denver Broncos. The Giants are already thin at tight end. Levine Toilolo and Rysen John are on IR. Kyle Rudolph has just begun practicing after offseason foot surgery, and his availability for Week 1 remains in question.

Cowboys named as the third-most talented roster in the NFL - Blogging The Boys
Like every team in the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys have their fair share of question marks as the preseason comes to an end. Some of those questions include whether their offensive line will be able to hold up throughout the course of a 17-game season? Will the defense make strides and not hold the team back like it did in 2020? Will Dak Prescott stay healthy and will the offensive get back into a rhythm? Despite all these questions, there’s one thing that never seems to be a real question in Dallas. The talent on their roster. The Cowboys’ rosters of the past and present might be a bit top-heavy, but they always seem to have as much pure talent as anyone else in the league.

Dolphins try to distance themselves from Deshaun Watson without ruling out a trade - PFT
Robinson applied more clarity today. “My Watson reporting is from high-level sourcing in five teams: #Dolphins, #Texans, #Broncos, #Eagles, #Panthers and inside Watson’s camp. I challenge the Dolphins to state on the record that they haven’t spoken to Houston about a Watson deal in camp.” The question isn’t whether the Dolphins want Watson. They do, for the right price. The Texans want to unload Watson, for the right price. For now, the two circles on the Venn diagram remain separated. Soon, they’ll either move toward each other or they won’t.

Seahawks trade for former Washington Huskies star corner Sidney Jones - Field Gulls
Injuries have been a problem for Jones and he found himself in and out of the lineup even when healthy while in Philadelphia. Jones was waived during 2020 roster cuts and claimed by the Jaguars. He played in nine games, starting in six of them, and getting two interceptions as well as nine passes defensed. Unfortunately, he ended the season on IR with an Achilles injury. Jacksonville re-signed him this offseason and he has played this preseason. The Seahawks’ outside corner situation has been a concern among fans throughout the offseason. At the moment rookie CB Tre Brown is dealing with knee soreness and that was largely why they traded for John Reid last week. Ahkello Witherspoon and D.J. Reed project to be the Week 1 starters but no one else who’s predominantly an outside CB should be considered a lock to make the roster.

Source: Texans cutting Rasul Douglas - SportsTalk 790
The Texans are cutting veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas, according to a league source not authorized to speak publicly. Douglas drew interest from multiple NFL teams, including the New England Patriots, per sources, after being cut by the Las Vegas Raiders. The former Philadelphia Eagles third-round draft pick from West Virginia adds an experienced presence to the Texans’ secondary. He has also played for the Carolina Panthers.

Jets Roster Cutdown Tracker With News and Live Updates - Gang Green Nation
DE Jeremiah Valoaga. [BLG Note: As you may recall, this is the dude who flattened Andre Dillard twice in practice last week.]

Monday Football Monday #51: Colts season is doomed, J.K. Dobbins out for season, What were the Eagles thinking? - The SB Nation NFL Show
Pete Sweeney and RJ Ochoa discuss the latest news and biggest storylines from the Week 3 preseaon games including Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins suffering from a torn ACL, T.Y. Hilton’s injury, the Eagles trading for QB Gardner Minshew, and so much more.

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