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Philadelphia Eagles: You’re not excited enough about Markus Wheaton

By Geoffrey Knox

PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 30: Markus Wheaton #80 of the Philadelphia Eagles cannot catch a pass against Derrick Jones #31 of the New York Jets in the first quarter during the preseason game at Lincoln Financial Field on August 30, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 30: Markus Wheaton #80 of the Philadelphia Eagles cannot catch a pass against Derrick Jones #31 of the New York Jets in the first quarter during the preseason game at Lincoln Financial Field on August 30, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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Dear Philadelphia Eagles fans, this Markus Wheaton signing may be something that we aren’t paying enough attention to.

When Markus Wheaton was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles on May 2nd, a lot of people paid that move little attention. No one’s saying that you were wrong for doing so, if you were among the unimpressed.

After a forgettable rookie campaign in 2013 for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Wheaton had two very good years in ‘The Steel City’ before a shoulder injury in his third wrecked a pretty good thing that he had going. The Steelers parted ways with the former third rounder, and the Chicago Bears signed him to a two-year deal on March 10th of 2017. He’d be released 369 days later.

Wait. We said we weren’t paying enough attention to this signing right?

Here’s the thing. None of that has anything to do with why you’re paying this guy no attention. If you’re an Eagles fan, veteran signings at the wide receiver position come and go all of the time, most of which do so with no real fireworks.

Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles /

Philadelphia Eagles

See, most of us are still trying to recover from the catastrophes that were Steve Smith, Chris Givens, Reuben Randle and the valedictorian of this class, Doriel Green-Beckham. Seeing a veteran like Wheaton signed didn’t move the needle too much.

There were more important things to discuss, where’s Alshon Jeffery and who was starting at quarterback on Thursday night for instance (we, now, know the answer to that second question is Nick Foles).

Mack Hollins is also on the shelf, so the Eagles head into the 2018 season opener needing to rely on the likes of Nelson Agholor and Mike Wallace. The latter is playing in his first game with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Then, there’s an unproven Shelton Gibson and tight end Dallas Goedert. The latter there is playing in his first professional football game.

Add that to the fact that Wheaton has been dealing with a hamstring injury. That’s commonly a death sentence for veteran free agents in the NFL, but here’s some good news. Wheaton may be a whole lot closer to Patrick Robinson than he is to Green-Beckham.

Philly doesn’t need him to be Alshon Jeffery. They may not even need him to be Torrey Smith. They just need him to be serviceable when called upon, and the 107 receptions and eight touchdowns he caught while with the Pittsburgh Steelers proves that he can be.

Don’t look now. We may look back on this signing and say this was one of the steals of the offseason. Wheaton may be this season’s Patrick Robinson.

Remember? Many of you all were ready to give up on him too.

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