The Eagles and running back Corey Clement agreed to terms on a one-year deal that keeps the running back in Philadelphia, the team announced on Wednesday. Clement finished last season on injured reserve due to a shoulder injury and was not tendered a contract in March, making him an unrestricted free agent.
In the NFL, undrafted rookies receive three-year contracts and are eligible to be restricted free agents after the third year. Clement went undrafted in 2017 and had been scheduled to be a restricted free agent before the non-tender. Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports has the contract details:
Clement was famously a Super Bowl hero in 2017 after going undrafted and making the Eagles out of training camp. In that Super Bowl, he caught four passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately, he dealt with injuries in both 2018 and 2019 and finished both years on injured reserve. A quick look at his yearly numbers:
In Clement, the Eagles get a veteran running back who knows their system and contributes on special teams. He can catch passes out of the backfield and, as seen above, costs very little. While Miles Sanders is the clear starter, Clement could compete with Boston Scott for playing time.
The current running back room
From the 2019 roster, the Eagles are returning the aforementioned Miles Sanders and Boston Scott along with Elijah Holyfield. The team leaned on both Sanders and Scott through the end of last year, while Holyfield was a late-season addition who never saw game action.
The team did not sign any other running backs in free agency or draft one last weekend. They did, however, add two undrafted running backs immediately after the draft in Michael Warren out of Cincinnati and Adrian Killins out of UCF. Killins is a small, speed back while Warren is a shorter and stockier bruiser more in the mold of Jordan Howard.
Oh, and there is that possibility of the recently-drafted Jalen Hurts playing some running back.
As for making the team, Corey Clement should be in pretty good shape as long as he can stay healthy and the team doesn’t add any other veteran running backs. While Sanders and Scott are locks to make the final roster, everything else is up in the air. Clement’s ability as an all-around back and a special teams contributor give him the inside track, but he will have to prove he can stay healthy after spending time on injured reserve in each of the last two seasons.
