Pederson mum on Ajayi’s availability for Broncos game
PHILADELPHIA » Newly acquired running back Jay Ajayi might not even play before the bye.
Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, during his Wednesday news conference, wouldn’t commit to dressing the thirdyear running back for the game this weekend with the Broncos.
Acquired for a fourthround pick, Ajayi has a lot of work to do to learn the North Dakota State — er, the Eagles’ playbook.
With Pederson unwilling to commit to playing time, let alone a role for Ajayi, the questions were about his alleged reputation as a bad teammate with the Dolphins.
Right now, the only player’s opinion that really counts belongs to Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz. And he’s confident the deal won’t disrupt the chemistry that’s enabled the Eagles to go 7-1, their best start since the 2004 Super Bowl season.
“You never want to mess with that mojo, so to speak, but I think this move is something that I don’t think anyone is really concerned about,” Wentz said. “He seems like he’s a great fit, a great guy and a heck of a ballplayer. So I don’t foresee that being an issue whatsoever. And we have such good leadership, such good veterans that if there is any of that it will be squished real quick. So I’m pretty confident we’ll be fine.”
Wentz, like Pederson, is fully aware of the numbers Ajayi put up with the Dolphins last year. Pederson said that rushing for almost 1,300 yards, including three 200-yard games, is tough to do.
“This guy’s a tough, powerful runner and he’s got great vision,” Pederson said. “He’s got a great first step, a quick backinside behind tackles and guards. One guy doesn’t necessarily bring him down all the time. You have to go back a little bit to see him run routes and see he’s very capable of being a route runner out of the backfield.
“He brings a very aggressive run demeanor to our offense.”
Pederson also realizes there had to be issues between Ajayi and the Dolphins for the running back to get ditched.
Weary of explaining why the midseason addition won’t be a distraction, Pederson said “everybody has a history” and presented a story about a so-called troubled addition to the Green Bay Packers during his tour with the team.
“As hard as it for you all to sit here and believe that, I was in a situation where we brought in a player and there were reports of character issues and all kinds of things,” Pederson said. “And you know what? The guys rallied around and there was not one issue whatsoever with this player. And we went on and won a Super Bowl. It lies with the trust of the team.
“As hard as it is probably for you all to believe … I trust the guys on this team to handle players.”
Pederson didn’t identify the player but it likely was Andre Rison during the 1996 season. And he caught a touchdown pass to help the Packers beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Pederson also believes Eagles assistant coach Duce Staley is the right guy to handle the egos of running backs Ajayi, LeGarrette Blount and Wendell Smallwood.
“You’ve got to have a guy like Duce to take a position in that room because that room can be a dynamic room,” Pederson said. “The personalities can be kind of all over the place at times. He has the right demeanor to deal with LeGarrette and all the guys we have. He’s the perfect coach for handling this situation.”
Pederson conceded that Blount remains the starter and “nothing changes with Wendell. We just keep feeding him when we can.”
That’s for now. Pederson wouldn’t commit to a starter after Ajayi gets up to speed, although don’t expect it to start this week.
“Yeah, again it goes back to how fast Jay can pick up our system and be comfortable with the things we’re doing,” Pederson said. “It would be a disservice to just throw him out there. So nothing is going to change with the rotation.”
Eagles veteran captain Malcolm Jenkins hasn’t had an opportunity yet to chat with Ajayi. But Jenkins sees no worries on the horizon.
“I don’t think we have any anticipation of this being any kind of issue,” Jenkins said. “He’s been on a solid team. He’s been a great player in this league, a special player. I think everybody is just really looking forward to him kind of establishing his role and seeing what he can do to help the team.”
As for Blount, he learned of the trade during a conversation with Staley.
“There was no initial reaction,” Blount said. “I can only control what I control. That’s a decision that was made from up top. I can’t go up there and be like, ‘don’t make this trade or make this trade.’ I just can control what I do out there, focus on what I have to focus on and make sure I’m ready for the game on Sunday.”