Philadelphia Eagles: Keeping Wendell Smallwood doesn’t make sense

Even if he comes out on top of the backup running back competition, Wendell Smallwood could still remain on the chopping block.

The 2018 preseason has not treated the Philadelphia Eagles too well. As injuries continue to pile up, it is making decisions quite difficult for the teams front office as final cuts will be here sooner than we know it. Obviously, with a healthy roster the Eagles have a ton of no-brainer decisions to make. As week one inches closer though, the Eagles have to keep some bottom of the barrel type players on board for emergency situations.

One of the odd positional battles that the Eagles had thus far was at the running back position. No, Jay Ajayi, Corey Clement, and Darren Sproles are not in jeopardy of losing their obvious positions on the depth chart. But since the Eagles like to keep four or five backs around, the backup’s backup has become just as important as a starter it seems like.

All eyes have been on Josh Adams, Matt Jones, Donnel Pumphrey, and Wendell Smallwood. Although the battle hasn’t been as thrilling as expected, it is quite clear who has earned the spot so far. Eagles third-year veteran, and former fifth-round pick, Smallwood has shockingly been the only reliable running back through two games. His numbers aren’t exactly spectacular, but he has yet to miss a snap when called upon. And you know the saying, half the job is just showing up. Smallwood has shown up, but the other cannot say the same.

Does Smallwood crack the final roster?

Last year, Smallwood couldn’t avoid injuries. The Eagles wouldn’t cut him since it was only the second year of his contract, but they weren’t too fond of him once they traded for Ajayi. By the time the bye week rolled around, Smallwood spent every game day in street clothes until the meaningless week seventeen game against the Dallas Cowboys. After that, he was back on the sidelines for the Eagles Super Bowl run.

It came as a surprise that Smallwood survived OTAs and training camp without being released. It was very clear that the uncertainty of Pumphrey, and Adams health gave the Eagles a reason to keep a veteran like Smallwood on board. As Adams can’t stay on the field, and Pumphrey can’t get on the field, it almost feels like the battle is between Jones and Smallwood.

After seeing Jones struggle tremendously during week two of the preseason, it is very clear that Smallwood is the best back of the bunch as of now. Adams and Jones will have a chance to redeem themselves this Thursday, but it’s not easy to predict how things will go with the struggling second-team offensive lineman up front. Even if Smallwood proves to be the most productive of the backups through preseason though, it still doesn’t make sense for him to make the roster.

What’s the point?

Let’s start by saying this; Wendell Smallwood is not as bad as some may make him out to be. For a fifth-round back, Smallwood has some potential to be a decent rotational back. With his injury concerns, and issues with fumbling, Smallwood becomes a liability out of the backfield, though. Seeing as though the Eagles are not in desperate need for him, Smallwood doesn’t issue much value to the team.

Since the Eagles lost LeGarrette Blount to free agency, they are lacking the one-two punch of power backs that was Blount and Ajayi. Hence the reason why Josh Adams (6’2″, 225 lbs) automatically became the favorite to win the battle. Unfortunately, Smallwood fits the description of a back who resembles Sproles and Clement, but with less upside.

Keep in mind, Ajayi can make up for the loss of Blount by taking on a bigger workload, but that’s not how Doug Pederson likes to run things on the offense. The rotation of fresh legs is what made the backfield so successful at times. And if they are going to keep that many running backs on board, it doesn’t make much sense to have Smallwood in the mix. The Eagles best bet would be to either keep Adams on board, or look elsewhere in free agency.