Eagles News: Philadelphia ‘remains interested’ in Deshaun Watson

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

Is Jalen Hurts the Eagles QB1? Time will tell. – Inquirer
A lot of teams who otherwise might have been interested in Watson are not pursuing a trade because of the allegations. But apparently that’s not the case with the Eagles. According to multiple league sources, they remain interested in the three-time Pro Bowler. That doesn’t mean something is going to happen, but it does mean the Eagles aren’t yet ready to hand the keys to their offense over to Hurts.

2022 NFL quarterback market predictions: 18 teams that could swap starters, and where Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson might land – ESPN+
Having moved on from Carson Wentz in February, the Eagles are (for now) turning things over to their second-year signal-caller Hurts. But if Wentz recovers from his foot injury quickly enough and plays 75% of the Colts’ offensive snaps, the Eagles would have three first-round picks next year. That puts them in position to draft a quarterback, to trade for Watson or Wilson or Rodgers — pretty much to do anything they want to do. They’ve been connected with Watson for good reason and look like the team most likely to make a push once there’s more certainty about Watson’s situation. Hurts, a second-round pick last year, has been in similar situations before, and maybe he surprises them with a big year. But in the meantime, the Eagles are in a prime spot to go QB hunting in 2022, if not sooner. Most likely outcome: Watson. There’s no team better equipped to trade for him. Long shot: Hurts, off a surprising monster season.

A grand jury investigation has been launched into complaints against Deshaun Watson – Yahoo! Sports
As civil litigation against Houston Texans star Deshaun Watson crawls forward, two sources have confirmed the Harris County District Attorney’s office has launched a grand jury investigation into the quarterback. The sources confirmed a report from the Fox 26 affiliate in Houston that subpoenas were in the process of being issued by the adult sex crimes and trafficking division of the Harris County prosecutor’s office. One source described the subpoenas as seeking the testimony of a “small handful” of women who have recently filed sexual misconduct complaints against Watson with the Houston Police Department. There was no timeline given for the witness testimony or grand jury proceedings.

‘This Woman Asked Me What I Was Wearing’ – Sports Illustrated
By the time Ashley Solis met with NFL investigators, via Zoom call in April, she had already cleared many of the hurdles that come with bringing serious allegations against a high-profile celebrity. The 28-year-old licensed massage therapist was the first woman to file a suit against Deshaun Watson, describing sexual misconduct by the Texans quarterback. She forfeited her privacy by naming herself even before the courts required it, opening her up to a torrent of online abuse. She also met with Houston police to file a report. Even after all that, Solis was taken aback by questions posed by NFL investigators. “This woman asked me what I was wearing, which honestly really pissed me off,” Solis told Sports Illustrated in what was her first interview with a media outlet. “She explained that that’s something that she has to ask—which I don’t believe at all. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be wearing that would suggest that I don’t want you to put your penis on my hand. Do I need to wear a turtleneck?” While Lisa Friel and Jennifer Gaffney, the former prosecutors who now run the NFL’s personal-conduct investigations, needed a detailed account of her March 2020 massage appointment with Watson, Solis says their approach left her “worried my words were going to be used against me.”

Eagles 53-man roster projection after the first preseason game – BGN
The Eagles holding Sanders out on Thursday reinforces the idea that the Eagles plan to really ride him this year. Which, good! Scott has been the clear No. 2 based on practice rep distribution. Interestingly, Howard is listed as the second running back on the Eagles’ public depth chart (which, for full disclosure, is assembled by the team’s PR staff). Howard played early on Thursday and was on the first team kickoff coverage unit. I don’t think he should be kept on the roster because, like, who’s really coming after him if you let him go? Can’t you get him on the practice squad? But it looks like he might stick. I don’t see why the Eagles would keep Huntley on their roster all season last year and watch him flash this offseason just to risk losing him on waivers. Besides, he’s their best kick returner option. The Eagles are also not letting Gainwell go after he’s shown some potential. This leaves Kerryon Johnson as the odd man out in a numbers crunch.

Above the Nest with Raichele #21: Takeaways from week 1 loss to Steelers – BGN Radio
The Eagles fell short to the Steelers 24-16 on Thursday night’s week 1 preseason game. Raichele Privette runs through some of the takeaways from the game including Quez Watkins standout performance, Nick Mullens stock down and the possibility of Jake Elliot being on his way to a bounce back season.

Worst 2021 fantasy football ADP value on every NFL team – PFF
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES. WR Jalen Reagor, Philadelphia Eagles: 137.2 ADP (WR64). Reagor is not a bad bet at this spot, but he may be the third-best wide receiver on a team that didn’t have a player top 540 receiving yards in 2020. Of course, his rookie season was interrupted by injury, but the Eagles also added DeVonta Smith to the fold. Plus, Travis Fulgham was clearly the team’s best player last year. Reagor managed to secure just 31 receptions for 396 receiving yards.

Cleaning out the notebook from the preseason opener – PE.com
Something that caught my eye early in the game was the big lick safety Anthony Harris put on running back Najee Harris – all 230 pounds of him – on a short pass in the first quarter. Anthony Harris has looked at home in this defense from the jump. Having him in the deep secondary gives the Eagles a ballhawk who excels with his football IQ and who is going to be physical. Looking forward to seeing more of Harris and how he takes charge of the secondary from a leadership perspective. Having Harris with a rehabbing Rodney McLeod, who is still aiming to be ready for the regular season, and an experienced set of cornerbacks bodes well for the defensive backfield.

7 Winners and 2 Losers after the Steelers 26-14 win over the Eagles – Behind The Steel Curtain
Losers — Starting OLine. Stat Line: Not the best look for many. The return of players like Chuks Okorafor and Trai Turner had fans excited, and rightfully so. However, the starting line, and it wasn’t the projected starting offensive line, looked rusty. It should have been expected, and the Eagles’ starting defensive front is good, but it would have left fans with a better feeling if there was more push from the starting offensive line and less of…well…what we saw most of the time.

Cowboys defensive tackle Neville Gallimore suffers injury in Cards game – Blogging The Boys
Gallimore has had a strong camp to go with a strong finish to the 2020 season, putting him in prime position to be a starter on defense. Unfortunately, he had to leave the Cardinals game early with what looked like an elbow injury. It’s irresponsible to speculate too much on his injury, but he was in a great deal of pain as it looked like his elbow was bent back in the wrong direction.

Giants preseason Week 1 53-man roster projection – Big Blue View
Current roster: Saquon Barkley, Devontae Booker, Corey Clement, Alfred Morris, Gary Brightwell, Sandro Platzgummer. In: Barkley, Booker, Clement, MorrisOut: Brightwell, Platzgummer. As a sixth-round pick, Brightwell is hardly guaranteed a roster spot. He has been sidelined from practice for a week or so at this point, and with Morris on the roster and Clement appearing to have a nice camp the young man is falling behind. Right now, I would guess he is headed to the practice squad.

Former Seahawks LB Mychal Kendricks visits the 49ers – Niners Nation
According to the NFL’s transaction wire, the Niners hosted former Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Mychal Kendricks. Kendricks has been productive in the NFL as recently as 2019 when he started 14 games with Seattle. However, Kendricks tore his ACL during Week 17 in the season finale against San Francisco. Oh, and there’s something else. Three weeks ago, Kendricks was sentenced to one day in jail, three years probation, and 300 hours of community service for a 2018 insider-trading charge. [BLG Note: As you’ll recall, Kendricks used to play with current 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans.]

Dion Lewis retires from NFL – PFT
Lewis was a fifth-round pick of the Eagles in 2011 and spent two years with the team before being traded to the Browns. He missed the 2013 season with a broken leg, got cut the next season and did not appear in another game until he joined the Patriots in 2015. He won a Super Bowl after the 2016 season and had his best year in 2017 when he ran 180 times for 896 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught three touchdowns that season and then moved on to Tennessee for two seasons before wrapping up his career with the Giants in 2020. Lewis had 567 carries for 2,425 yards and 191 catches for 1,408 yards for his career. He scored 21 overall touchdowns.

The NFL is hell bent on making football as boring as possible – SB Nation
The NFL has long had issues with individuality and personality. In the league’s view, football should be played in a specific way, with very specific decorum — which is really quite remarkable in a sport where violence is so baked into the DNA of the game. Now, the league is going a step further to enforce their beliefs. The league informed teams Tuesday that taunting is being elevated from simply being a penalty, to a “point of emphasis” for the upcoming season. It takes the current structure in place and adds dramatic punishment to players who violate the taunting rules. Now, a player who commits two taunting penalties in a game will be immediately ejected, with the possibility of a fine and suspension being levied at the league’s discretion.

NFL Reacts #2: Preseason hype, Draft strategy, and Players to watch this weekend – The SB Nation NFL Show
Welcome to another edition of NFL Reacts! Stephen Serda, Kate Magdziuk, and Justis Mosqueda have a lot to discuss from last night’s preseason doubleheader. Should you buy the Quez Watkins hype? The Patriots put Mac Jones in a tough spot, but he looked good in his first preseason action. The NFL Reacts community has some questions for Justis before a discussion on fantasy draft strategy surrounding players who are unvaccinated this season. It’s a wonderful time of year where we’ve got preseason NFL games Friday – Sunday! There’s actually a lot of intriguing matchups to watch this weekend.

Leave a Comment Cancel reply