Can’t forget about me
Some Eagles have more on the line than others during preseason
PHILADELPHIA – Nobody talks about Donnel Pumphrey, Shelton Gibson or Wendell Smallwood anymore. Treyvon Hester and Bruce Hector go around 300 pounds apiece, but they might as well be invisible.
Josh Perkins? Remember him?
Didn’t think so. The tight end played in nine games for the Eagles last season, until a knee injury ended his season.
Thing is, these forgotten Eagles players are still here and still competing and, health permitting, still will show up on the TV screens of fans throughout the preseason. And like dozens of others on the 90-man roster, they don’t have any idea even what this next month holds for them, much less the next year … or two … or 10.
They haven’t lost any of their ability. And in almost all many cases, they’re better than they were when the Eagles acquired them. Actually, all have been on the team’s active roster for at least parts of one season, and all except Pumphrey have played in games.
But it doesn’t matter. The sexy additions general manager Howie Roseman has added to their position groups has pushed their relevance to the bottom of a crowded page.
New running backs Miles Sanders and Jordan Howard have pushed everybody else, including Pumphrey and Smallwood, down two spots.
New defensive tackles Malik Jackson and Hassan Ridgeway along with the surprise re-signing of Timmy Jernigan have done the same with Hector and Hester, who also are battling undrafted rookie Kevin Wilkins, a hit in their meeting room, if nothing else.
Gibson, who’s been on the team each of the last two years, is not even listed among the top six wide receivers on the team’s first depth chart of 2019, thanks to the addition of J.J. Arcega-Whiteside in this year’s draft and the emergence of Marken Michel.
Any chance Perkins has of sticking with the team again this year seems contingent on the health of tight ends Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert and Richard Rodgers, who all appear to be locks for the three spots they’re expected to use at that position. Rodgers had spent most of last season on injured reserve, opening up a spot for Perkins, who was on IR by the time Rodgers returned.
But as members of what is arguably the NFL’s deepest roster, the players know there are so many other opportunities for them. Thirty-one others, to be precise. And that doesn’t even include the XFL, which is re-booting in February after nearly 20 years.
“We’re auditioning for all 32 teams,” Pumphrey said. “It really doesn’t bother me. I mean, at the end of the day, if I’m able to play here. I’d love to do that. But this is really just an interview for all the other teams as well.”
And for the first time since he was drafted in the fourth round in 2017, Pumphrey has nothing holding him back. There are no injuries he’s fighting through, and it shows on the practice field, where he has mastered the offense as well in his third year in the system.
“I’m happy for Pump,” offensive coordinator Mike Groh said. “He’s done a nice job. He’s shown up every day and he’s gotten better. He’s another one of these guys, this is Year 3 for him and he’s comfortable in our language and in our system and he knows what to do.”
“I came upon a new routine where I’ve been able to stay healthy, and that was throughout OTAs as well,” Pumphrey said. “And it’s just continuing to work for me. That was the biggest issue over the past two years, was not being able to be healthy and trying to get healthy to where I’m out there playing, and I’m not able to move fast or even play comfortable.”
The problem for Pumphrey is that this discovery might be too late to keep him with the Eagles, who after resigning Darren Sproles are believed to have just one more spot available that will go to Pumphrey, Smallwood, Boston Scott, last year’s rushing leader, Josh Adams, or Super Bowl hero Corey Clement.
Coming off a knee injury, Clement has taken care not to be dropped into the “forgotten” category himself with an aggressive offseason conditioning regimen that has him down to 210 pounds. He played at 216 last season, after coming in at 227 as a rookie in 2017.
“I feel a little bit faster and a lot more explosive out there,” Clement said.
Still, there are no guarantees for him, either.
Personnel changes happen so fast in this league that it’s not even worth it for any players to pay attention. This is especially true for the “forgotten” ones.
“It’s go hard or go home for me,” said Pumphrey, who unlike most others in his situation is married with two children to feed.
He’s just looking straight ahead, knowing he still has a chance to make others look at him.