Travis

Fulgham

With Denver cutting its roster from 90 to 85 players, Fulgham was one of the first five to go. He quickly lands on his feet in a Green Bay wideout room looking for more capable bodies. Fulgham, 27 next month, had a productive showing with the Eagles in 2020, going 38-539-4 on 67 targets.

Already on his fourth team since 2019, there’s little hope Fulgham, 26, can resurface in a significant role after peaking with 38 receptions for 539 yards and four touchdowns in place of Alshon Jeffery and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside last year. Perhaps Fulgham gets a call if Will Fuller (finger, IR) and DeVante Parker (hamstring) are sidelined for longer than expected.

We knew Fulgham was on the bubble, but it is still somewhat surprising for one of the league’s shakiest receiver corps. The Eagles would apparently rather give JJ Arcega-Whiteside his 19th opportunity. Fulgham will undoubtedly be stashed on the practice squad if he clears waivers. The 25-year-old caught 38 balls for 539 yards in heroic spot-starting duty last season.

Fulgham opened training camp as a favorite to start in three-wide sets, but has since fallen behind Quez Watkins and Greg Ward. Watkins now appears to be locked into the Eagles No. 3 role, and Ward, who is considered a reliable slot option, looks to have moved ahead of Fulgham as well. Stunningly, JJ Arcega-Whiteside may make the roster instead of Fulgham, after the former second round pick turned in a strong training camp. Fulgham may yet make the final 53, but it’s clear that he is a true long shot for fantasy value in 2021.

Watkins delivered the highlight of the night with a screen pass that he took 79 yards to the house. Watkins was in with the starters and nearly had another long score on a pass from Jalen Hurts when he beat his man down the sideline, but the pass was overthrown. Watkins offers elite speed, and could emerge as a contributor this season after the 2020 sixth rounder spent most of last season behind John Hightower.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports an MRI on Smith’s injured knee “revealed relatively good news” for the rookie wideout. The team thought the injury could have been “something worse,” per Fowler. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said there’s “no cause for concern” for Smith’s long-term outlook. The “week to week” designation probably means we won’t see Smith -- the tenth pick in the 2021 NFL Draft -- this preseason. He still has a good shot to suit up for the Eagles’ September 12 opener against Atlanta. Missing a big chunk of training camp isn’t the best development for Smith; Jalen Reagor could become Philadelphia’s default WR1 in his absence. Reagor, Travis Fulgham, and Greg Ward are the Eagles’ starting wideouts with Smith sidelined. We’ll surely see Smith’s redraft ADP plunge in the next couple weeks.

Fulgham will play the X or Z spot, with Jalen Reagor likely moving to the slot. After bursting onto the scene with 435 yards and four touchdowns in his first five games last year, Fulgham faded down the stretch, catching nine passes over the final eight weeks. Eagles coach Doug Pederson said Fulgham’s “work habits” were an issue, and the 2019 sixth-rounder won’t be given anything after his late season benching. Greg Ward, John Hightower, and JJ Arcega-Whiteside will push Fulgham in camp.

Pederson’s concerns could explain why Fulgham -- after a blistering start in which he went for 435 yards and four touchdowns in five games -- was quickly phased out of the Philadelphia offense. Fulgham caught just nine passes over the season’s final eight games. “Fulgham got into Pederson’s doghouse and never got out,” NBC Sports’ Reuben Frank said. Fulgham, Frank added, could benefit from new head coach Nick Sirianni, a former receivers coach. Still, Fulgham is unlikely to start the 2021 season as a top-three pass catching option in the Eagles offense.

Fulgham made an early season splash with touchdowns in four of his first five games. He tanked after that, finishing with just nine catches over the final eight weeks. Fulgham didn’t play more than 40% of snaps from Week 13 on. That bodes poorly for 2021 role, though the Eagles seem likely to make changes at receiver this offseason, with Alshon Jeffery a strong candidate to be designated a post-June cut. Fulgham is an end-of-the-roster dynasty stash.

The one thing Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts had in common today was that they did not look Fulgham’s way, though one of his missed connections was an awful fourth quarter drop on a Hurts attempt. Fulgham seemed to lose it in the lights. Going on four catches over his past four games, the Fulgham dream is dead regardless of who is under center. The Saints are on deck for Week 14.