Jordan Howard will prove to be very effective for the Eagles
By Conor Myles
After recently trading for ex-Chicago Bear, Jordan Howard, the Philadelphia Eagles may prove to be the best landing spot for the running back who’s itching to rejuvenate his career.
The huge question mark revolving around the Philadelphia Eagles offense going into the 2018 offseason — who is going to carry the ball? Jay Ajayi proved his health was a constant concern missing Philadelphia’s last 14 games as he became an unrestricted free agent. Corey Clement hit a sophomore slump as he too struggled to remain healthy missing the final seven games (including postseason) due to a knee injury.
The aging Darren Sproles became much of an afterthought once he was sidelined for ten games. Wendell Smallwood failed to make an impact in year three while undrafted free agent, Josh Adams, led the Eagles in rushing this past season despite having one of the worst short yardage campaigns with 0.3 yards-per-carry with the ten attempts he received.
Philadelphia was faced with Ajayi entering free agency, Sproles pondering his NFL future, Clement returning from injury, and then a couple of fourth-string running backs. The team desperately had to inject proven talent into the group and did just that when they traded for Jordan Howard.
Howard comes to the Eagles via trade with the Chicago Bears in a deal that appears to be next-to-nothing on the surface. Chicago received a conditional sixth-round pick in 2020 in return for the team’s leading rusher the past three seasons who happens to be a Pro Bowler as well.
The Bears felt inclined to move on from Howard for straightforward reasons when you peel off the layers. There was buzz circulating before the start of last season of Howard’s fit with Nagy’s offense. After a year together, the second-year head coach gave general manager, Ryan Pace, enough indication the fit was not meant to be. And it was time to pick up an asset for a player on an expiring rookie contract.