Eagles news and notes: Jenkins calls out NFL, Kaepernick, Jeffery sits again

The Eagles sit Alshon Jeffery for a fourth-consecutive practice, and Malcolm Jenkins calls out NFL teams and owners.

Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery sits again, and safety Malcolm Jenkins makes headlines for a statement. It’s been quite a 24-hour stretch for the Philadelphia Eagles. Let’s start with the second topic. It’s been the subject of much discussion over the last few months. Is Colin Kaepernick being blackballed or is his difficulty in finding employment somehow related to his recent lack of success on the field of play?

You could argue that it’s been a little of both. What largely gets lost in the debate is the fact that when “Kap” chose to take a knee, he was barely on the San Francisco 49ers roster at that time. Okay, well he was the backup, but he was backing up Blaine Gabbert. When you’ve been benched by two coaches (Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly), and you’re looking up the depth chart at Gabbert, it’s safe to say your NFL career is spiraling out of control.

Continuing the argument:

On the other hand, Jenkins has a point. If you’ve missed the news, the Eagles safety made headlines on Thursday with his statement that NFL teams are cowards if they’re unwilling to sign Kaepernick for fear of public blowback. Yes, he’s struggled. Still, if we’re being honest, with some of the guys that are hanging around on NFL rosters, it’s hard to understand why he isn’t, at least, being given a shot. Unless, of course, you’re just as confused as the rest of us as to why he’s so unwilling to accept the fact that he may not be better than a backup option.

Here’s some of what Jenkins had to say to delawareonline.com:

"This is just some other teams being, quite honestly, cowards. To say that they’re afraid of backlash to sign someone to make their team better, when fans’ input has never been in the equation when it comes to signing people in the past…It’s certain owners’ way of making an example out of [Kaepernick] to discourage anybody else from doing what he did."

For an in-depth argument on the controversy surrounding Kaepernick, click here.

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Jeffery sits again.

Meanwhile, in your daily dose of Jeffery, one of the Eagles’ highest-profile acquisitions sat out of training camp practice again. This was the fourth-consecutive day that’s happened. While the news of this has some fans worried (especially given Jeffery’s recent injury history), everyone should remain calm.

Jeffery participated in the Eagles’ first open practice at Lincoln Financial Field on July 30th. That was actually after he sustained the shoulder injury that we’re still discussing. Holding him out of practice is just a precautionary measure. He’s set to be in the lineup when the Eagles head to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers in their first preseason game.