Wallace loss sparks wide receiver search
PHILADELPHIA » With Mike Wallace sidelined indefinitely due to a fractured fibula, the Eagles are searching for help at wide receiver.
Head coach Doug Pederson isn’t personally scouring the countryside for depth. But it’s safe to say the front office has a pretty good idea of what he’s looking for.
“A veteran player would be a lot easier to work with than a young rookie player to get them caught up,” Pederson said Monday. “Plus, a guy that’s had game experience. Definitely going to have to rely on the tight ends more, going to have to rely on the running game a little bit more and kind of lean that direction until we can figure this out.”
The Eagles recently cut veteran wide receiver Markus Wheaton, a fiveyear veteran, to roll with Kamar Aiken, a bigger bodied pass catcher and more accomplished special teams player. Aiken caught five passes for 39 yards, including a 19-yarder, in the 27-21 loss Sunday to the Buccaneers.
Additionally, Joshua Perkins, primarily a tight end, caught four passes for 57 yards. Alshon Jeffery, who team’s top wide receiver last week, is week to week in his comeback from rotator cuff surgery, according to Pederson. Mack Hollins, who had a solid rookie year, is on injured reserve with a groin issue.
Wallace is out at least a couple of weeks, and possibly more, depending on tests he’s undergoing. That leaves Nelson Agholor as the only reliable wide receiver. Shelton Gibson still is getting acclimated to a more involved role.
••• Elsewhere on the injury list, left offensive tackle Jason Peters is nursing a quadriceps issue that limited him to eight plays in the Bucs game.
“Happened about the third or fourth play in the game, tweaked it just a little bit,” Pederson said. “And so just couldn’t put the pressure on it that he felt he needed to in the game.”
Halapoulivaati Vaitai was solid after giving up an early sack to Jason Pierre-Paul.
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NOTES » Three of Corey Clement’s five rushing TDs have either tied the game or given the Eagles the lead. His 15-yard run Sunday knotted the score against the Bucs at 7. … Zach Ertz led the Eagles with 11 receptions worth 94 yards. It’s the sixth game he’s had double-digit receptions, which leads all league tight ends since 2013. … Cornerback Ronald Darby had an interception Sunday, giving him three in his last five regular-season games. … Nick Foles threw for 334 yards Sunday to pass Norm Van Brocklin (7,497 yards), who played for the Eagles from 1958-60, for the ninth-most passing yards in club history. Foles also went over 10,000 career passing yards.