Dear Philadelphia: Why is Dorial Green-Beckham still on this team?

We’re assuming they’re on top of it, but why on Earth haven’t the Eagles released Dorial Green-Beckham yet?

Once upon a time, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham was seen as the top wide receiver prospects that was coming out of high school. 247Sports.com saw him as a five-star prospect. Some of the top collegiate programs in the country engaged in a recruiting war. Months later, the six-foot-six, 237-pound standout (he was around 220 pounds then) decided he would spend his college days hauling in passes for the Missouri Tigers.

That signing helped the Tigers’ 2012 recruiting class to a ranking of 32nd in the country. 25 games in Columbia, Missouri produced 87 receptions, 1,278 yards and 17 touchdowns. The Tennessee Titans would make him the 40th-overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft. Things were looking good in Green-Beckham’s football life, but unfortunately all good things must come to an end. They just ended faster than “DGB” may have liked them to.

The turning point:

The Titans were so disappointed in what they were getting from “DGB” that they gave up on him following one season. On August 16, 2016, he was traded to Philly for offensive lineman Dennis Kelly. The hope was the Eagles could add some stability to their wide receiver corps. Tennessee’s decision to move on from Green-Beckham so quickly raised a red flag. Still, with obvious upside, the Eagles decided that the reward was worth the risk.

Unfortunately, things don’t always work out the way you’d expect them to.

Now, he has two seasons and 31 games of NFL football under his belt. Green-Beckham still hasn’t eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving. His career totals (68 receptions, 941 yards and six touchdowns) are the the type of numbers you’d hope to get from one season, not two. This is especially true about someone who was drafted so high. Now, with the Eagles recent upgrades at the position, free agent acquisitions Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith and draftees Shelton Gibson and Mack Hollins, “DGB” now finds himself venturing into the land of expendable.

It doesn’t help that one of their own draft snafus, Nelson Agholor, isn’t generating any trade interest and is too expensive to release.

What’s next?

In Agholor’s defense, team coaches have acknowledged they’re seeing some improvement. Green-Beckham, unfortunately, is another story. Too often, balls are sailing through his hands or he’s “juggling” the ball before he brings it in.

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As another week of OTAs came to a close, he was running with quarterback Nick Foles and the second-team offense. Perhaps the strangest thing about Green-Beckham’s NFL tenure has been the fact that he’s been somewhat oblivious to what’s been obvious to the rest of us. He sees his performance and lack of production as, simply, a lack of reps and on-field time.

Recently, he stated “I don’t really get a lot of opportunities at practice, but I feel like everything on my end is going pretty good.” Most would disagree. After two seasons of watching him try and develop into a decent professional athlete, the better question is how many opportunities is this guy going to get?

According to Spotrac.com, “DGB” is scheduled to earn $944,418 in 2017. That would swell to $1,199,126 in 2018 (if he would still be on the team). It costs the Eagles nothing to release him prior to the 2017 season. The question is what’s taking so long?

We’ve all reserved ourselves to the idea that he won’t be on this team much longer anyway.

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