Those Philadelphia Eagles backups are center stage again
By Hunter Doyle
Here come those Philadelphia Eagles practice squad guys again!
It’s happening again. Philadelphia Eagles fans are experincing déjà vu. Their wide receiver corps is depleted just like it was last year. Three of their outside corners are also sidelined. Those are just a few of the countless injuries that have plagued this team thus far in 2020. Heading into Sunday night’s primetime matchup with the San Francisco 49ers, practice squad players are being asked to step up once again.
Last year, it was Greg Ward, Boston Scott, and Josh Perkins who helped save a season that appeared to be over. ‘The Birds’ were 6-7 and losing 17-3 to the New York Giants in the third quarter before a cast of unexpected heroes stepped in.
Fast forward to Week 4 of the 2020 season and the Eagles are 0-2-1. Plenty of fans are already giving up on this squad. It’s all too familiar. This happened in 2018 with free-agent pickups Josh Adams and Cre’Von LeBlanc coming up big for this team down the stretch. Hopefully, some new practice squad stars will arise and help this team display some of its magic as they have in years past.
To start, Jason Peters went from being listed as questionable to the injured reserve list. As a result, former rugby player Jordan Mailata is expected to get his first NFL start. The past few weeks, he has gotten snaps when injuries have hit Philly during games, and he hasn’t looked too bad. The real question will be whether he can step up for a full game. Eagles fans sure wouldn’t mind seeing the Australian getting a few snaps at fullback either, just for fun. This is going to be a week to remember regardless of what happens with all of these new faces.