Philadelphia Eagles sign Bengals practice squad kicker Jake Elliott
Eagles find Caleb Sturgis’s replacement in Bengals practice squad kicker Jake Elliott.
The Philadelphia Eagles have spent part of the last 48 hours searching for a new kicker. It was announced on Sunday after the Eagles win over the Washington Redskins that Caleb Sturgis had suffered a quad strain. Then, it was believed to be a hip flexor. Sturgis’s injury will not keep him out for the entire season, the Eagles have still opted to place him on injured reserve.
Keep in mind that two players can return from the injured reserve, but they won’t be able to practice again for six weeks. They can’t appear in an NFL game for an additional two weeks. This situation makes things tricky for the Eagles. Keep in mind they also have Ronald Darby’s four-to-six week timetable to deal with. Also, rookie cornerback Sidney Jones sits on the injured reserve as well so there is no telling who they plan to bring back, if they bring back anyone.
One thing is for sure though, the Eagles needed a kicker as soon as possible. After a day of working out free-agent kickers, the Eagles have decided to sign Cincinnati Bengals practice squad rookie, Jake Elliott.
About Elliott…
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Jake Elliot is a rookie kicker who played for four seasons at Memphis. He went 21-for-26 for an impressive 80.8 percent last season. Elliott was 10-for-12 in attempts of over 40 yards and hit two out of three attempts that were over 50 yards. His longest distance kick was for 50 yards.
He was drafted in the fifth-round with the 153rd overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Bengals. He was obviously expected to come in and be a special teams superstar but ended up losing the battle to the veteran kicker, Randy Bullock.
Although Elliott has had his struggles in the preseason, that doesn’t make much of a difference on the Eagles. As we all know Sturgis has not been all that accurate either. Even in last weeks game against the Redskins, Sturgis missed a chip-shot PAT. Aside from experience, Elliott and Sturgis are not all that different. Hopefully, Elliott shook off the preseason jitters, and he should be ready to go full throttle on Sunday.