Grotz: Agholor, Mills revel in reunion attention
PHILADELPHIA » The best player in the Eagles’ joint practice with the New England Patriots Monday was Nelson Agholor.
Yeah, that guy. And it wasn’t close. Two stops removed from the Eagles, who took him off the board in the first round of the 2015 draft, Agholor caught everything in his wheelhouse and more. The over-the-shoulder grab he made on Eagles rookie Zech McPherson, who had leveraged the receiver almost to the boundary would have made DeAndre Hopkins smile.
How do you let go of a guy who makes the job look so effortless, as the Eagles did in letting Agholor walk when his contract ran out after the 2019 season?
Why in the world did the Las Vegas Raiders move on from Agholor after he caught 48 passes for 868 yards (18.7-yard average) and eight touchdowns in Jon Gruden’s spread-the-ball-around offense last season?
“I can’t focus on that,” Agholor said after practice. “I’m super-happy with the opportunity I have to be a Patriot. I think I have a great coaching staff and great opportunity in front of me.”
The Patriots handed Agholor, who averaged 45 catches and five touchdowns in five years with the Eagles, a two-year, $26 million contract.
It’s early but it looks like money well spent, as Agholor is emerging as a reliable go-to wide receiver.
When rookie quarterback Mac Jones becomes the starter — a matter of when, not if, despite the presence of Cam Newton — the numbers could pop off the page. Jones fired that over-the-shoulder ball to Agholor.
The Eagles are still trying to get the wide receiver position squared away after going in another direction from Agholor, having selected Jalen Reagor and DeVonta Smith in the first round of the last two drafts.
Smith hasn’t practiced since the first week of training camp due to a sprained MCL. Reagor showed big-play promise on a screen Monday, and in the 1-on-1s hauled in a Jalen Hurts deep throw. He just hasn’t been consistent, unlike Agholor.
Those last two words ring hauntingly familiar for Agholor. Hakim Laws, after rescuing babies thrown out of the second floor of a burning building in Philadelphia in 2019, said with great provincial emotion, “My man just started throwing babies out the window and we were catching them … unlike Agholor.”
The video went viral and was another national sports blemish for Philadelphia, right there with the snowball throwing at Santa Claus.
Then there was the infamous Cheerleaders “gentlemen’s club” episode in the summer of 2016 for Agholor, one involving an exotic dancer. No charges were filed.
The following season Agholor led the Eagles with nine receptions in their Super Bowl LII triumph over the Patriots. He played through injuries a chunk of the next two years, and the Eagles decided to start over.
The novelty seemed to hit Agholor Monday as he enjoyed the return to One NovaCare Way, albeit in another uniform. Instead of being the answer to the Eagles’ problems, he was their biggest problem.
“I don’t think anything in my life was a mistake, so there’s no what-ifs,” Agholor said. “It’s all, you know, a part of whatever was for me.
“This is a beautiful place, and I’m super happy for the opportunity we get to practice versus the Eagles and also for me to be back here and see a lot of wonderful faces.”
Agholor spoke while Jalen Mills, another Eagles draftee-turned-Patriot, was in the on-deck interview circle. Agholor talked about the resumption of their battles during the Eagles’ practice sessions.
Mills kept the green hair, arguing that keeping it that color is part of his Green Goblin character. And oh, by the way, there is no Eagles Super Bowl title without Mills breaking up that fourthand-goal pass to Julio Jones of Atlanta in the divisional round of the playoffs that year.
“Of course, I’ve got memories,” Mills said. “We did something that will be in the books forever. I know there’s history with a couple of the guys but I just see it as a new journey. My journey is already written about. This is the next chapter.”
The same is true for Agholor. Holding court for a group full of Phillyarea media was just like old times, the veteran’s smile, and his singleness of purpose to get better clearly — and finally — obvious.
Agholor said he’s like a big brother to Eagles receiver Greg Ward, and he’s familiar with Smith, as the duo work out in his hometown of Tampa. Agholor added that he’s “super-grateful” to owner Jeffrey Lurie for giving him a chance to play, appreciative of general manager Howie Roseman and happy to see some of his old teammates.
“We’ll always be connected,” Agholor said. “It’s a special thing. I think that’s important for us to always understand that it took a sacrifice from every single one of us to reach something like that. And this year with this team, that’s the same type of mentality that I have. It’s going to take a great sacrifice for us to accomplish something special.”
Two years after Agholor moved on from the Eagles, there is no question that he, too, is special. That’s life. That’s football.