Philadelphia Eagles need to focus on building healthy roster in 2020

Changes are most likely on the way for the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2020 offseason, and finding healthy players need to be a top priority for the team.

The beginning of March means that the NFL Combine is officially in the books, and the Philadelphia Eagles along with every team in the NFL got a sample of the talent heading into April’s draft.

Taking a trip back into last season, it’s no surprise that Philadelphia will look to fill some important spots, with wide receiver, improving their pass rush, and looking to boost their defense all ranking near the top of the list priority wise.

However, none of that will matter if they acquire players with injury-prone backgrounds, meaning some of the decisions surrounding the Eagles this offseason will be easier said than done.

Decisions on current players on the Eagles with injury history have yet to be made. One such player is tackle Jason Peters, as the 32-year-old had arthroscopic knee surgery in 2019, and most likely will miss part of next season if he were to return to the team.

Unfortunately, Peters is far from the only one who was hit by the injury bug after seeing age play a factor with both DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffrey in 2019 as well.

As Eagles fans know, Jackson underwent surgery in 2019 and even shared back in November that he will be stronger than ever in 2020, although once again this will be easier said than done since the veteran still has plenty to prove.

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Other players who added more to the injury headache in Philadelphia included running backs Jordan Howard, who dealt with a strange shoulder injury, and Corey Clement, who ended up on injured reserved.

Both players were 25-years-old in 2019 and both unfortunately have major question marks heading into the 2020 season, especially when it comes to determining whether the Eagles should give them another chance.

Not to mention, the big question remains for the Eagles over what exactly can be done heading into free agency along with the draft to help put the team in better position to compete for 2020.

For what it’s worth, the Eagles have revamped their training staff this offseason, and also have new members of their medical staff, all of which who are re-evaluating everything from cleats to even family medical history.

This may sound like a bit much, but it’s out an abundance of caution for the Eagles to avoid the same fate as the past two seasons.

Frankly, it is a miracle that Philadelphia even won nine games in 2019 since seven wins would have been a miracle in and of itself.

Head coach Doug Pederson seems to finally realize that drafting or acquiring players that are coming off injuries isn’t going to be the best method moving forward.

Shopping in the bargain bin has certainly helped find a few gems, but it doesn’t always guarantee long-term success.

Having a guy with an Achilles’ injury or a nagging shoulder injury that isn’t bothering them at the moment is fine, but down the road come playoff time is when things like this become an issue.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Eagles paid more attention to medical reports and player interviews than the 40-yard dash during this year’s combine in Indianapolis. That strategy of cautious could end up hurting Philadelphia come draft time, but also this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Free agency will be an interesting process for Philadelphia as well over the next couple of weeks.

For instance, a potential target in Baltimore Ravens safety Tony Jefferson is now a risk with his ACL injury that unfortunately limited him to appearing in just five games during the 2019 season.

Another name worth monitoring for the Eagles is Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Breshad Perriman, who would obviously help fill a major need, but also sat on the IR for the Ravens in 2015 and 2016 before being waived from the team.

There’s no shortage of talent in the football world for the Eagles to pick up over the next few months, but hopefully after seeing how certain situations have played out in recent years, Philadelphia is extra cautious over players with an unfortunate history of injuries.

Otherwise, the Eagles could be in for another year of frustrations in the injury department throughout the 2020 season, which no one wants to see.