Philadelphia Eagles end their experiment with Donnel Pumphrey

PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 08: Donnel Pumphrey #35 of the Philadelphia Eagles warms up before a preseason game against the Tennessee Titans at Lincoln Financial Field on August 8, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 08: Donnel Pumphrey #35 of the Philadelphia Eagles warms up before a preseason game against the Tennessee Titans at Lincoln Financial Field on August 8, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The news came down on August 30th, shortly after dinner time on the East Coast. The Philadelphia Eagles have officially ended their experiment with Donnel Pumphrey.

Maybe calling Donnel Pumphrey an experiment is a bit harsh. After all, there’s only one man who can claim to be the official all-time leader in rushing yards in NCAA Division I FBS history. That’s an accolade that belongs to only one man on Planet Earth, and the Philadelphia Eagles didn’t even wait until the 4 PM EST deadline on Saturday to make their decision.

The Eagles announced their first wave of 2019 roster cuts at a little after 6:30 PM EST on August 30th, and one of the names on the list belonged to Pumphrey.

Ladies and gentlemen, Pumphrey’s career in Philadelphia and, perhaps, his career in the NFL is over.

More from Inside the Iggles

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Ever since his arrival, we’ve debated about whether or not his skill set would translate to professional football. Coaches told us over and over again that he was on the right track, but the eyeball test constantly proved that wasn’t true.

When we reached the dawn of the 2019 offseason, everyone knew Pumphrey’s best shot to make the Eagles’ roster was to make a mark on special teams. Both he and the man he would battle for a roster spot, Boston Scott, at one point or another have both been dubbed as ‘the man who would take over and fill the void left by Sproles, but Scott would learn what Pumphrey learned some time ago.

The Philadelphia Eagles would much rather have the real Darren Sproles than any guy who was supposed to be a second coming. He’s still an Eagle though, and every Eagles fan no doubt wishes him luck.