Eagles’ Joe Walker To Miss Season
Eagles linebacker Joe Walker suffered a torn ACL in the team’s exhibition game against Pittsburgh on Thursday and will land on season-ending injured reserve, according to Les Bowen and Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).
Walker, a seventh-round rookie from Oregon, made a good impression on Eagles coaches prior to the injury and could’ve cracked the club’s roster. The Eagles are now dangerously thin at linebacker without Walker, as his unavailability leaves them with just five healthy players at the position, as Roster Resource shows. For at least the time being, Philadelphia has Nigel Bradham, Jordan Hicks, Mychal Kendricks, Deontae Skinner and Najee Goode as options.
Given the Walker news, the Eagles now look primed to turn to the open market for help, which was already a legitimate possibility. As of earlier this month, the Eagles and 31-year-old free agent Stephen Tulloch were reportedly negotiating a deal, though two weeks have passed and nothing has materialized on that front. Tulloch, who played under new Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz in both Tennessee and Detroit, has 147 NFL appearances and 111 starts to his name. In each of his six most recent full seasons, Tulloch has surpassed the 100-tackle mark.
Eagles Still Seeking Wide Receivers
Even after acquiring Dorial Green-Beckham from the Titans, the Eagles aren’t done looking for wide receivers. The Eagles put in a claim for wide receiver Rasheed Bailey when he was exposed to waivers by the Jaguars, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. However, the Chargers had higher priority than the Eagles and landed him first. 
[RELATED: Reaction To Dorial Green-Beckham Trade]
The Eagles are familiar with Bailey after he spent the 2015 preseason with them. The undrafted Delaware Valley product did not manage to crack the 53-man roster, but he apparently made a good impression on Philly coaches.
The move to claim Bailey indicates that the Eagles could pursue other wide receivers on the open market or via trade. Of course, there will be tons of wide receivers released between now and the first week of September, giving the Eagles plenty of opportunity to add a WR without giving up any assets.
The Eagles currently have Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor, Josh Huff, Green-Beckham, Paul Turner, and Rueben Randle at wide receiver, as shown on Roster Resource. Behind them, receivers like Chris Givens, T.J. Graham, and Hunter Sharp are jockeying for roster spots.
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Eagles Notes: Bradford, DGB, Kelly
The Eagles showed desperation in taking a chance on wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham and that desperation shows that Sam Bradford was right to want out this offseason, Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. After giving up three net draft picks, including their 2017 first-rounder, to get Carson Wentz, the Eagles have been forced to roll the dice on some players in order to bring up the talent level. This offseason, the Eagles have brought in a number of red flag players including Wendell Smallwood, Alex McCalister, Jalen Mills, Nigel Bradham, and Green-Beckham.
- In the chatter over the Eagles‘ acquisition of Green-Beckham, few have talked about the departure of Dennis Kelly, Eliot Schor-Parks of NJ.com writes. Kelly wasn’t exactly been a Pro Bowler with the Eagles, but he did serve a serviceable backup who could be relied on if an injury popped up on the offensive line. Kelly might not have the ceiling that DGB does, but Schor-Parks argues that his floor is much higher. By the same token, DGB might have the most raw talent of any Philly receiver.
Eagles’ Andrew Gardner Accepts Pay Cut
Eagles offensive lineman Andrew Gardner took a pay cut in order to stay with the team. Gardner was originally slated to make $1.2MM in 2016, but he’ll now get the veteran’s minimum of $760K instead, a source tells Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). In exchange for accepting the pay reduction, Gardner will get $300K added to his 2018 incentives. 
Gardner, 30, was signed by the Eagles prior to the 2014 season to serve as a backup, but wound up appearing in every regular season game, including eight starts. Last summer, Gardner won the open competition for the teams’ starting right guard job and went on to ink an extension just prior to the start of the season. Unfortunately, just a few games into the new deal, he sustained a foot injury that sidelined him for the entire season.
As shown on Roster Resource, Gardner has been bumped from the starting job at right guard by the addition of free agent Brandon Brooks. Gardner now finds himself in reserve alongside center/guard Stefen Wisniewski and center Barrett Jones. Without taking the pay cut, Gardner may have been bumped from the roster all together.
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Reaction To Dorial Green-Beckham Trade
The Titans shocked the NFL world earlier today when they dealt 2015 second-round wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham to the Eagles in exchange for offensive lineman Dennis Kelly. Let’s take a look at some of the reaction to the surprising trade:
- The Titans were consistently disappointed in Green-Beckham’s work ethic, tweets Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports, who adds that DGB repeatedly disregarded instructions to work out harder over the offseason and to enter training camp in the proper shape. Head coach Mike Mularkey confirmed that sentiment, telling reporters, including Terry McCormick of TitansInsider.com (Twitter link): “We had many conversations about that and it never did click in.”
- However, DGB never did have issues with missed meetings or lateness, tweets McCormick. Rather, Green-Beckham just never mastered the Titans’ offense during his year-plus with the squad.
- Trade talks between Tennessee and Philadelphia began last week, per McCormick (Twitter links), and general manager Jon Robinson says the deal boiled down to the fact that the club had a surplus at wide receiver and a need along the offensive line.
- The presence of rookie Tajae Sharpe seems to have played a large role in the trade, as McCormick tweets that DHB had lost reps to Sharpe in practice. Indeed, DGB was behind Rishard Matthews, Sharpe, Kendall Wright, Harry Douglas, and Andre Johnson on the Titans’ depth chart, per Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- According to Robinson, the deal wasn’t intended to send a message to Tennessee’s wide receiver corps, or to make a statement to the team as a whole. Rather, the GM says he was simply trying to improve the Titans’ roster (Twitter link via Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com).
- The Eagles, meanwhile, had been searching for receiver help for some time, and had even offered a “nice deal” to veteran Anquan Boldin before he signed with the Lions, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
- Philadelphia general manager Howie Roseman isn’t taking much of a risk by acquiring DGB given that he can easily be waived, but the trade shows the weak state of the Eagles’ wide receiving group, opines Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).
Eagles Hire Brian Dawkins
- Brian Dawkins is headed back to Philadelphia, as the Eagles have hired the former safety as a football operations executive, according to Dave Zangaro of CSNPhilly.com. Dawkins originally joined the club’s scouting department two weeks ago as part of a fellowship program, and will now be joining the front office in a full-time capacity.
Eagles Acquire WR Dorial Green-Beckham
The Eagles have acquired wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham in a trade with the Titans for offensive lineman Dennis Kelly, according to announcements from both clubs. 
“Not to speak on Philly’s behalf but they inquired about it,’’ Titans GM Jon Robinson told the team website. “They thought it was a good opportunity for him, and we thought adding Dennis would be good for our football team. We are moving on. I appreciate everything Dorial did when he was here. He bought in to what we were trying to do. But in the end we felt like this was the best decision for the team.”
In high school, Green-Beckham was considered to be one of the best wide receivers in the nation. However, off-field red flags pushed him into the second round of the 2015 draft, where the Titans snagged him with the 40th overall pick. That selection was made by the old regime in Tennessee and the new front office apparently wasn’t thrilled with what they’ve seen on him. DGB still has serious talent, but his work ethic in the NFL has been suspect.Green-Beckham hauled in 32 catches for 549 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie last season.
The Eagles’ wide receiver group is headlined by Jordan Matthews and Nelson Agholor with support from free agent pickups Chris Givens and Reuben Randle plus Chip Kelly holdover Josh Huff. The arrival of DGB could drastically shake up the Eagles’ WR depth chart.
Kelly, entering his fifth NFL season, has appeared in 30 games with 15 starts for the Eagles. The former fifth-round pick has appeared at both tackle and guard and should provide the Titans with some O-Line depth.
“I like his versatility,’’ Robinson said. “He has really good size, he’s versatile, he’s played a lot of positions. He embodies the traits we look for in an offensive lineman – smart, tough, and dependable.”
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/14/16
Here are today’s minor moves:
- The Dolphins have signed defensive end Cedric Reed, tweets Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The former Texas product spent last season on the Bills’ practice squad.
- The Eagles have released offensive lineman Malcolm Bunche and wideout Deon Long, reports Zach Berman of The Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). Bunche, a 2015 undrafted free agent, spent last season on Philly’s practice squad. Long, meanwhile, was added by the Eagles in early August after having been cut by the Rams.
Earlier updates:
- The Steelers announced that they’ve placed special teams ace Ross Ventrone on injured reserve after he was injured in the club’s first preseason game. Pittsburgh also waived/injured offensive tackle Brian Mihalik and defensive tackle Roy Philon. To take those roster spots, the Steelers signed offensive tackle Wade Hansen, defensive tackle Khaynin Mosley-Smith, and cornerback Julian Whigham.
- The Falcons‘ roster is back to 90 players after the team signed defensive back Ryan White, the club announced today.
- The Jets have signed DL Jake Ceresna and RB Terry Williams, per Seth Walder of The New York Daily News (via Twitter). Walder adds that DL Christo Bilukidi left camp, and the team waived Anthony Kelly.
- The Browns have signed WR Ed Eagan and have waived/injured Rannell Hall. The team also reached an injury settlement with DL Kyle Rose (Twitter link via Nate Ulrich of The Akron Beacon Journal).
- The Cardinals have released LB Zack Wagenmann with an injury settlement and have signed DT Iosia Iosia, Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com tweets. Wagenmann, whom Arizona signed as a UDFA out of Montana last season, missed his entire rookie campaign after breaking his foot twice. He set Montana’s career sacks (37.5) and tackles for loss (53) records. The Titans signed Iosia as a UDFA this season, but he was waived in May.
Latest On Will Beatty
Although a report last night indicated that the Jaguars had offered free agent tackle Will Beatty a contract after working him out, a source tells Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union that the no signing is imminent “at this time.” Those two reports don’t necessarily contradict each other, as Jacksonville may have proposed a contract that Beatty is still mulling over. Indeed, Beatty is apparently in no rush to a sign a deal, tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com, who also hears that the Jags did make an offer.
[RELATED: Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell on rookie class, receiver depth]
“[Beatty] did a nice job,” said head coach Gus Bradley, who added that a signing was not on the club’s immediate radar. “For us, I’m sure there is a lot of speculation with what’s going on, but we have two [offensive tackles] out and we’re always going to compete and always bring guys in and just keep our options option. If something comes up later on in training camp or after the preseason, we just want to make sure we have our options open so it was more of a workout.”
Kelvin Beachum, who is projected to start at left tackle for the Jaguars, hasn’t practiced since August 2 as he recovers from a torn ACL suffered in 2015. But Bradley says the Beatty workout wasn’t a sign that Jacksonville is worried about Beachum’s health. “Beachum had another good day today; he’s gone through two days of individual [work],” Bradley said. “In my quick conversations, they thought he did well again. I can tell from his spirit, he feels progress is being made. Now, hopefully it’s rapid.”
The Eagles were the other team reported to have interest in Beatty, but Philadelphia merely contacted the veteran tackle to see how his recovery from a torn pectoral was going, as well as to gather intel on his plans going forward, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Eagles are bracing for the loss of right tackle Lane Johnson, who is facing a 10-game suspension for violating the league’s PED policy, and head coach Doug Pederson didn’t sound overly enthused about Dennis Kelly or Matt Tobin, Philadelphia’s incumbent backup plans.
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Jaguars, Eagles Interested In Will Beatty
The market for free agent offensive tackle Will Beatty has apparently intensified, as the former Giants lineman worked out for the Jaguars yesterday and now has an offer in hand from the club, according to Tom Rock of Newsday (Twitter links). The Eagles have also reached out to express interest in Beatty as they wait for a decision in the Lane Johnson suspension saga, per Rock.
[RELATED: Jaguars want to trade from TE/DL depth]
According to Football Outsiders‘ metrics, Jacksonville’s offensive line was below-average in 2016, as they ranked 16th in run-blocking and 25th in the pass game, but the club has already added one intriguing free agent option this year, agreeing to terms with former Steelers left tackle Kelvin Beachum. The Jaguars signed Beachum to a unique deal that includes an option bonus that will lock in four additional seasons onto what is technically a one-year contract. Beachum is fully expected to win Jacksonville’s left tackle job, pushing former No. 2 overall pick to Luke Joeckel to guard, and with 2015 free agent addition Jermey Parnell on the right side, Beatty would appear to be relegated to swing tackle duty.
The Eagles, meanwhile, are faced with the possibility of losing one of their best offensive lineman for most of the season, as Johnson is currently waiting to hear back on his appeal of his 10-game PED ban (although he expects the suspension to stick). If Johnson’s appeal does indeed fail, Philadelphia’s in-house options at the moment are Dennis Kelly and Matt Tobin, neither of whom head coach Doug Pederson sounded enthused about yesterday.
Beatty, 31, missed the entire 2015 campaign after tearing his pectoral, and was released by New York following the season. Given that recent injury, it’s no wonder that clubs have been slow to call, but Beatty missed only one game in the three seasons prior to 2015, and Rock reports that he’s now fully healthy. PFR ranked Beatty as the seventh-best offensive free agent still on the board earlier this year; since that time, five of the six players listed ahead of Beatty have found new deals.
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