We are officially one week away from the Eagles’ season opener.
I answered the first bunch of your questions yesterday.
And have some more to answer today:
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I really like what I have seen from Harris this summer. He’s a solid player and he reminds me a lot of when the Eagles got Rodney McLeod back in 2016. He’s not a Pro Bowler, maybe he’ll never be that, but he’s a solid piece to have on the roster. And with McLeod getting over that ACL tear, it’s nice to have a steady force in the secondary like Harris.
Getting Harris for $4 million was also a steal. That’s the same price the Eagles paid Jalen Mills last year and Mills was converting to safety. Harris is a more accomplished player at the position and also has plenty of familiarity with Jonathan Gannon’s defense … at least some staples of what Gannon is going to run. That should help with the transition.
It’s interesting that McLeod is entering the final year of his contract and Harris is here on a one year deal. Because Harris is a few years younger and if it becomes a decision between the two next offseason, the Eagles might elect to move forward with Harris. I have also watched him take a leadership role this summer.
Yup, the 2020 practice squad rules are still alive in 2021. Here are the important things to know about them:
• Teams are allowed 16 practice squad players with up to six who have more than two accrued seasons.
• Up to four players each week can be protected from being poached.
• Two players can be elevated for game days and granted safe passage to and from the practice squad without the waiver wire process.
We’re really getting ahead of ourselves here. The Eagles have a lot of players in 2021 who are in the final years of their contracts. The ones that might be worthy of a franchise tag: Jordan Mailata, Josh Sweat, Dallas Goedert.
The last time the Eagles used a franchise tag was on DeSean Jackson back in 2012 and the Eagles have used it just five times since it was introduced in 1993, so it’s not likely.
If the line stays healthy, it’s hard to imagine Dickerson having much of a role. But you’re right that the one spot he might have an outside chance to steal is the left guard. But that’s somewhat unlikely unless the Eagles and Seumalo are really struggling. Seumalo might not be a Pro Bowler but he’s pretty solid and Dickerson is getting a very late start.
Now, if Dickerson was out there all summer, I think this is a different story. Because although Seumalo is solid, Dickerson has tremendous potential and would have probably been good enough to make that a legitimate competition. He just never got the chance.
No matter what happens this year, I expect Dickerson to be starting somewhere in 2022.
Shelton Gibson was the Eagles’ fifth-round pick back in 2017 out of West Virginia. And you’re right: He could fly. But the rest of his game never caught up to his speed.
Gibson was with the Eagles for two years. In 2019, he got hurt and was later released. After that, he spent some time with the Browns before re-joining the Eagles in 2020 before the playoff game against the Seahawks. And he actually made a play in that game, drawing a pass interference call. But he was waived the next summer.
In 2020, Gibson spent some time with Washington and the Panthers. He wasn’t with a team this summer and is out of the league right now.
If Gibson’s career is over, he’ll end with 3 catches for 59 yards, including a 48-yarder in 2018. But he wasn’t even the Eagles’ worst pick in 2017.
Jelly.
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