Inquiring Minds: Is Shelton Gibson in danger of being cut?

To say Shelton Gibson’s struggling doesn’t quite describe things well enough.

The Philadelphia Eagles had to surround their quarterback, Carson Wentz, with better talent. We all knew that. The moves in made in free agency and the decision to take both Shelton Gibson and Mack Hollins in the most recent NFL Draft had the fan base buzzing. Unfortunately, some of the excitement surrounding one of those rookies is beginning to die down a little.

A recent article published by ProFootballFocus.com made quite a statement. According to Mike Alessandrini, Gibson is in danger of making the 53-man active roster of the Eagles. The immediate reaction is to question how accurate that statement might be. To be honest, it’s a question you may hear asked more often if Gibson continues to struggle in training camp like he did in the spring. Reports of his inability to haul in easy catches have been all too common. In a few instances, there were drills being run with no defensive involvement. On another occasion, he was standing still and had to wait on a pass that was delivered late.

He didn’t look that one in either.

A deeper look at the roster:

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The Eagles figure to take Alshon Jeffery, Torrey Smith, and Jordan Matthews into the 2017 season. Nelson Agholor is much too expensive to cut and has actually shown improvement recently. That bodes well for him. The aforementioned Mack Hollins has also been impressive. Hollins may even figure into Dave Fipp‘s plans for the special teams unit. That gives the Eagles five receivers. The thought of them carrying six on the active roster is a bit of a stretch. That possibility diminishes even more when you throw in the current situation at running back.

Darren Sproles, LeGarrette Blount, Donnel Pumphrey, Corey Clement, Byron Marshall and Wendell Smallwood (who’s in a little danger of his own) are all currently on the depth chart. The Eagles could take five running backs into the 2017 season. That would further decrease the possibility of keeping six receivers.

Gibson can’t worry about any of that, but coaches will need to see better production from him when training camp begins. The struggles of the receiving corps a season ago and the recent team additions have shone a light on this position group. Let’s hope the light isn’t too bright for Mr. Gibson.

Hey, the practice squad is always an option. On another note, believe it or not, this helps open the door a little wider for Dorial Green-Beckham. It’s funny how things can change in a month.

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