Eagles roundup: Jordan Mailata settles in, Richard Rodgers’ highlight
It’s time for another installment of Eagles roundup, and our attention shifts to that veteran tight end, Richard Rodgers and that other rugby guy on the team, Jordan Mailata.
With Zach Ertz and rookie Dallas Goedert already on the Philadelphia Eagles‘ roster and with Billy Brown, seemingly, having a leg up on that third tight end slot, it’s easy to forget that guys like veteran Richard Rodgers and former rugby star, Adam Zaruba are on the roster. Speaking of rugby, how can you forget about Jordan Mailata being on the roster? We’ll discuss more on him in a second.
Recently, Rodgers reminded everyone why he was signed to a one-year deal back in April. He was on the receiving end of a beautiful sideline catch that was tossed from Nate Sudfeld.
PhiladelphiaEagles.com called it the ‘catch of the day’ from Sunday’s practice session. Chris McPherson caught up with Rodgers to get his take:
Video courtesy of the Philadelphia Eagles’ YouTube page
It appears it’s Mr. Rodgers’ neighborhood, and he’s intent on making this roster.
Now, some news on Mailata…
We mentioned Adam Zaruba earlier. Last season, he found his way onto the practice squad after Philly tried out an idea. They’d bring in a rugby guy and teach him the nuances of NFL football.
Well, they liked the idea so much that they figured they’d dip into the pool, better known as Australian rugby again. This time, they landed Jordan Mailata at the 233rd-overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Now, the Eagles are trying to cram decades of experience from coaches and an entire offensive scheme into Mailata over the next month. They’ll need to do so successfully if Mailata has a serious chance of making this team.
Lane Johnson, Halapoulivaati Vaitai and Jason Peters are, obviously, locks to make the roster. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where an Australian rugby star that admitted he knew ‘as little as peanuts’ about American football is able to beat out guys who have played this game for their entire lives.
It would seem like guys like Taylor Hart and Matt Pryor have the better chance to make the roster, but who knows? Stranger things have happened. Right now, Mailata’s getting used to blocking schemes and contact drills. PhiladelphiaEagles.com caught up with him.
Take a look.
Video courtesy of the Philadelphia Eagles’ YouTube page
According to Mailata, he has ‘a handful of peanuts now’. We won’t even lie. We’re pulling for this guy. Time will tell if he makes the cut.