Eagles Talk: Can we stop panicking about the running back situation in March?
What are the Philadelphia Eagles going to do at running back?! There’s no way they can succeed this year. The season is over already. . .
The NFL Free Agency period has been open unofficially for about a week now. At this point, the Philadelphia Eagles still haven’t figured out what they are doing in their backfield. As they lose both, Jay Ajayi and Darren Sproles to expiring contracts, they are left with a few guys; Josh Adams, Corey Clement, Boston Scott, Wendell Smallwood, and Donnel Pumphrey. Despite not having a clear-cut starter on the squad right now, I’d be shocked if more than two of those players named above are on the final roster for the 2019 NFL Season.
The Eagles have a plan. At the NFL Combine, Howie Roseman and Doug Pederson highlighted the running back position as one that’s in need. Typically, they don’t do that. We’ve seen over the last few years that the ‘new norm’ for the Eagles is that they don’t necessarily tend to value the backfield much. They have officially translated into the running back by committee approach, and there’s a good chance that it never changes. Do we all agree with that? No, not exactly. But if the Eagles can get the right guys within the rotation, then there is obviously no reason to complain.
What are the Eagles going to do?
I’d say the Eagles are fine with a three-headed monster. They have Corey Clement, who has proven to be a solid playmaker on the ground and in the air when he’s not the focal point of the backfield. Therefore, the Eagles need to find the other two feature backs through Free Agency, Trading, or the NFL Draft. I would almost guarantee that the Eagles draft a running back this season. It may not be a first or second round selection, but it’s more than likely that there will be a drafted rookie in the backfield this time around.
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As for Free Agency and trading, that may take a while. Remember, it’s only March. We didn’t even get to the NFL Draft yet. Teams are still figuring out what they have beyond the starters on their teams, and they need to know what kind of depth they have. The Eagles have been linked to some Free Agent’s, but ultimately, they struck out in that department. Also, they have apparently been in trade talks with the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, and the Chicago Bears.
So we’re one week removed from the start of Free Agency, and the Eagles have yet to get a running back. Is it unfortunate? Yeah, sure. But nobody can seriously get into a panic this early into the new year. There’s plenty of offseason left to add to the backfield. Let me just remind those who are in a panic about a similar offseason.
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Back in 2017, the Eagles had just released Ryan Mathews from their backfield, which put the Eagles in a similar predicament. They had nobody to run to the ball before OTAs began. So the Eagles waited – Then they signed a veteran named LeGarrette Blount after being patient, and they got him at an incredibly cheap price.
Also, the Eagles ended up finding a diamond in the rough with their undrafted free agent, Corey Clement. And eventually, they traded for Jay Ajayi. Guess what? The Eagles won the Super Bowl that same season. The franchise isn’t sinking because of the running back situation in March. Relax, Eagles fans. It’s going to be alright.