Philadelphia Eagles Must Cut Miles Austin

Let’s talk real quick about our dear friend Miles Austin here, shall we? The Philadelphia Eagles picked up Austin in free agency on March 31st to a deal worth $2.3 million for only one year (thank God) and I will openly admit that I was a fan of the signing. I believed that the Eagles could use a seasoned veteran like Austin in the locker room to teach younger guys like Jordan Matthews, Josh Huff and Nelson Agholor the way the game is supposed to be played.

Wrong.

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All that Austin has done this season is take up a roster spot that could have gone to a player with far more upside (like Rasheed Bailey). In nine games, everyone’s favorite ex-Cowboy turned Eagle not named DeMarco Murray has accumulated all of 12 receptions for 212 yards and a touchdown. Astounding.

Austin has played 52 percent of the Eagles’ snaps on offense, which is just irresponsible when you consider his glaring lack of production. Huff and Matthews are far more deserving of snaps than Austin. However, that number is slightly skewed because of the injury to Agholor. Had the injury to the rookie wideout not occurred, Austin would probably have a much smaller sample size to work with. But, alas, this is the beautiful reality that Eagles fans are living in and it is truly disappointing.

To further examine Austin’s mediocrity, let’s take a look at the Eagles’ game against the Miami Dolphins this past Sunday, where he was targeted four times and recorded zero receptions. One of his targets came on a pretty throw from Mark Sanchez to the back of the end zone that any average NFL receiver could have brought down, but Austin failed to get his second foot in bounds, which I’m fairly confident I could have done.

Or not. I don’t know.

But the biggie came late in the game when Sanchez threw another ball intended for Austin in the end zone, which was intercepted by Dolphins safety Reshad Jones. Admittedly, the choice to pass there wasn’t a phenomenal one. It wasn’t a great moment for Sanchez or Chip Kelly, but the ball, which, for the most part, was pretty well thrown, flew right by Austin’s halfway extended hand and into the arms of Jones for the clean interception. On the play, Austin gave minimal to no effort at making a play for the ball or tackling Jones once he exited the end zone. It was an ugly play by Austin that Sanchez has taken most of the blame for thanks to his lengthy history of throwing interceptions in clutch situations.

In no alternative universe should the Eagles allow Austin to continue playing football in midnight green. He’s undoubtedly been the team’s worst receiver this season and it really isn’t even close. And before commenting, “But what about Seyi Ajirotutu?,” keep in mind that Ajirotutu was signed to be a special teams player. Not a wide receiver, even though that’s what he’s listed as on the depth chart.

Miles Austin should be cut immediately. The Eagles are not getting what they had originally hoped they would out of the former Pro Bowler and there is no reason to keep this going. This whole relationship is like dating a woman who was really cool at first and, by the time you decided to tie the knot, it turns out that your girlfriend was actually Lindsay Lohan wearing a wig the whole time.

Not the greatest analogy, but just nod your head and pretend to agree.

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