Doug Pederson returned to Eagles training camp on Wednesday and spoke to the media about his status as well as the team’s practice plans moving forward.
He's 26, he was scheduled to make over $1 million this year, and he most likely would have had a significant role.
Instead, Jatavis Brown retired.
Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said he spoke with Brown last week after the 4th-year linebacker abruptly retired from football during the early days of training camp.
"Everybody goes through different things in life," Pederson said. "There are times when you just come to a point where maybe you just don't have the passion, the drive. It's unfortunate because he's a great kid. He and I had a great conversation last week. I understood where he was coming from."
Brown, the Chargers' 5th-round pick in 2016, spent four years with San Diego / Los Angeles before signing with the Eagles as a free agent in March.
He played in 56 games with 23 starts in his four-year career.
With four years of pension credit, he is a vested veteran and will be eligible for a full NFL pension and health benefits.
"When your heart's not in something, you don't want to do the team, you don't want to do yourself (and) your teammates a disservice," Pederson said. "I respect that of him and have a lot of respect for that decision. That's a tough decision for a player to come to, to be able to step away from a game that he loves. I have a lot of respect for Jatavis and wish him all the success and all the best moving forward."
NFL
Brown's retirement leaves the Eagles without a linebacker who's made more than 16 career starts.
Only three current Eagles linebackers – Nate Gerry, T.J. Edwards and Duke Riley – have ever played an NFL defensive snap.
Also on the roster are rookies 3rd-round pick Davion Taylor, Shaun Bradley and Dante Olsen and 2019 special teamer Alex Singleton.
Pederson was asked Wednesday about the current state of Eagles linebackers.
"I think highly of our linebackers," Pederson said. "I'm really excited for this group. It's a young group and it's a very energetic group, something that we focused on – 'we' being Howie (Roseman), our scouts and our personnel department - through the offseason, through the draft and whatnot."
You have to go pretty far back to find Eagles players in the same age range as Brown who voluntarily retired.
Thanks to Ray Didinger, who shared these two with me:
Ed Blaine, who started his career with the Vince Lombardi Packers in 1962, played four years with the Eagles as a starting left guard before retiring after the 1966 season at the age of 26 to pursue a career as a doctor. He went on to become the director of the cardiovascular research center at Missouri, where he had played college football.
And there was also Herb Lusk, who had two solid years as a backup running back for the Eagles in the mid-1970s, rushing for 483 yards with a 4.3 average, retired at the age of 25 after the 1978 season to join the ministry. He has been pastor at the Greater Exodus Baptist Church at Broad and Ridge in Spring Garden for 38 years.
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