When an NFL is bad and their season is spiraling out of control, leaks tend to follow. This Philadelphia Eagles team is bad, and the leaks out of the Novacare Complex have already started.
A few weeks ago, there were rumblings that Howie Roseman has such a stranglehold over personnel that he decides who is active and inactive on gameday and often doesn’t even communicate his intentions to the coaching staff during the week. In October, there was this nugget about Jim Schwartz wanting to take some defensive players early in the NFL Draft instead of the players the Eagles ended up selecting.
And just this week, the flood gates appeared to open with leaks. Earlier in the week, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said that Carson Wentz remains his starter and that Jalen Hurts has not been getting any additional snaps with the first-team offense in practice.
However, ESPN’s Tim McManus reported on Saturday that Hurts has in fact been receiving more reps with the first-team offense in practice. Wentz is, per the report, still expected to start, but Hurts is going to see more snaps with Wentz on the sideline instead of split out wide.
And now, just hours before Monday night’s tilt with the Seattle Seahawks, NFL insider Geoff Mosher of Inside the Birds reports that Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie gave the directive to play Jalen Hurts on Monday if Carson Wentz struggles early. Big yikes. This report comes a couple of days after Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Lurie did not travel to Cleveland for last week’s game against the Browns because of his frustration with the team.
An owner meddling in the day-to-day personnel and game-planning decisions is never a good sign. And if the Eagles get blown out by the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football, it won’t be the last time we hear about Lurie taking a more hands-on approach in Philadelphia.
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Mike Maher is the editor and publisher of The Birds Blitz. Follow him on Twitter @mikeMaher and @TheBirdsBlitz and check out his archive for all of his latest stories about the Eagles and the NFL.
