Inside the Iggles
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Philadelphia Eagles: What’s next for the young running backs?

By Justin Grasso

PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 30: Josh Adams #33 of the Philadelphia Eagles runs the ball against Brandon Bryant #40 of the New York Jets in the third quarter during the preseason game at Lincoln Financial Field on August 30, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Eagles defeated the Jets 10-9. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 30: Josh Adams #33 of the Philadelphia Eagles runs the ball against Brandon Bryant #40 of the New York Jets in the third quarter during the preseason game at Lincoln Financial Field on August 30, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Eagles defeated the Jets 10-9. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OH – AUGUST 23: Wendell Smallwood #28 of the Philadelphia Eagles jumps over Michael Jordan #41 of the Cleveland Browns during the first half of a preseason game at FirstEnergy Stadium on August 23, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – AUGUST 23: Wendell Smallwood #28 of the Philadelphia Eagles jumps over Michael Jordan #41 of the Cleveland Browns during the first half of a preseason game at FirstEnergy Stadium on August 23, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

Wendell Smallwood

Heading into the 2018 offseason, everybody thought that there was a good chance that Wendell Smallwood would be released before the preseason even came around. Boy, were we all wrong. Smallwood ended up with the most first-half carries with the starters these past four weeks. Considering that Smallwood has spent the most years out of the group on the Eagles, it wasn’t necessarily shocking to see him get a significant workload.

For the final preseason game, a healthy Smallwood stayed off to the sideline to let the other guys get some reps. The apparent assumption would be that the Eagles have seen enough. Either they are impressed with Smallwood and intend on keeping him. Or they aren’t really thrilled with moving forward with him and are letting the other players get a shot to beat him out.

Want our opinion? Smallwood has proven to be a serviceable back in a committee. He won’t take over a game by any means, but he does get the job done when called upon. If it were up to us, Smallwood notches a position as the fourth running back on the depth chart.

Donnel Pumphrey

Last season, Donnel Pumphrey came into the preseason with high expectations. Pumphrey’s a five-foot-nine-inch running back who impressed the Eagles front office with his speed and shiftiness. The clear expectations for Pumphrey were to shadow Darren Sproles and become No. 43’s protege. There’s only one issue with that. Pumphrey cannot stay healthy.

He spent the entire 2017 season on the injured reserve and spent three-quarters of the 2018 preseason injured. He’s 23 with potential, but why waste a roster spot on such a fragile player? We need to face the facts and cut ties with the second-year back. It might’ve been a waste of a fourth-round pick, but the Eagles were gifted with Corey Clement anyway. So unless Pumphrey comes up as eligible for the IR once again, he’s more than likely out the door.

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