Should the Philadelphia Eagles kick the tire on Kenny Britt?
After being cut by the Cleveland Browns less than one season into a four-year contract, should the Philadelphia Eagles kick the tire on Rutgers product Kenny Britt?
The question is simple; should the Philadelphia Eagles sign Kenny Britt?
Now, I know this may seem like a superfluous question as the Eagles are currently sitting pretty at 10-2 and are firmly in the driver’s seat atop the NFC East, but bear with me. Doug Pederson‘s squad’s team-first mentality has helped to spread the love around on the offensive side of the ball, and the team recently signed number one receiver Alshon Jeffery to a big four-year, $52-million deal should have them set at wide receiver seemingly for years to come, so why, you may ask, would the Eagles be interested in a player who couldn’t even stick with the Cleveland Browns?
Well, once you get over the initial novelty of the idea, it actually makes some sense.
Britt, a Bayonne, New Jersey native made a name for himself at Rutgers as one of the best receivers in the nation. After a pair of 1200-plus yard seasons with the Crimson Knights, Britt moved on to the NFL and was selected 30th overall by the Tennessee Titans.
But Britt never really found a home in the NFL.
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After spending five largely disappointing seasons in Music City, highlighted by a pair of arrests in New Jersey, Britt bounced around the league, playing for the St. Louis Rams before ultimately landing in Cleveland after his lone 1000-yard professional season.
And now he’s a free agent.
On literally the first day of his tenure with the team, new GM John Dorsey cut Britt less than one season into his four-year contract after only catching 18 balls on 38 targets for 233-yards and a pair of touchdowns.
While he may not be a home run, there are some things about Britt that could entice the Eagles as they prepare for the playoffs, and maybe even past this season. Let’s explore the pros and cons of signing Kenny Britt.
Torrey Smith’s struggles
It’s no secret that Torrey Smith has struggled in his first season with the Eagles, a trend that has only gotten worse with each passing week.
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While never a true number one receiver, Smith came to Philadelphia to fill the deep threat vacancy the Eagles have been sorely missing since Chip Kelly let DeSean Jackson after the 2014 NFL season, but so far the productions just hasn’t been there.
Sure, Smith has hauled in a few deep balls, most notably a 59-yarder against the Arizona Cardinals, and has caught two touchdowns for the team, but he’s only logged 305 yards on 27-catches. These number obviously aren’t good, but when you dig into the weeds, they actually get much worse.
Besides being fourth on the team in receiving yards, trailing Jeffrey, Nelson Agholar and tight end Zach Ertz, Smith has only caught 27 of the 45 passes thrown his way, a 60-percent completion rate. Even though Smith is sometimes used as a diversion, and a pass interference call is just as good as a catch in the NFL, teams really need more production from their outside receivers than what Smith is bringing to the Eagles.
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With Agholar currently filling the team’s big play receiving role, and Smith on essentially a prove it deal for the next two seasons, it may be worth considering making a change on the outside down the stretch even occasionally. While Smith has proven himself to be a great teammate and an even better member of the community, giving rookie Mack Hollins, or a player like Britt and opportunity to compete for outside reps could help to sharpen the wide receiving core’s collective iron.
The Mike Groh connection
While Smith struggled mightily in his lone season in Cleveland, a team that I would assume is incredibly demoralizing to play for, his best season in the NFL came one season prior with the Los Angeles Rams, and that season, his wide receivers coach was Mike Groh.
Groh may not be a household name even with the most passionate Eagles fans, but he’s been one of the most important additions to the Novacare Center in Year 2 of the Pederson-era.
Groh initially rose to notoriety as a Chicago Bears assistent from 2012-2015, helping to coach up wide receivers like Brandon Marshall, and our very own Alshon Jeffery to some of their best seasons as pros, before ultimately moving on to the Rams for the 2016 season.
And in his lone season in La La Land, Groh became the Britt whisperer.
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Under Groh’s tutelage, Britt almost doubled his yardage from the year before, and became a serious red zone threat for rookie quarterback Jared Goff, hauling in 5 touchdowns on 111 catches for 1002-yards.
While it’s no guarantee that Groh could again work his magic on Britt in the City of Brotherly Love, he’s already given new life to Agholar, and helped to hone Jeffrey and Ertz’s respective crafts, so it’s entirely possible that the opportunity to turn the former Crimson Knight, a big bodied, 6-foot-3 receiver with legitimate 4.5 speed, into a productive member of this team’s receiving core may be too good to pass up.
Sign him now or face him later
Surely someone is going to sign Britt to a new contract once he passes through waivers, and more likely than not, it’s going to be a playoff team.
Whether it be the Seattle Seahawks, the Minnesota Vikings, or more likely than not the New England Patriots, a team is either going to have a wide receiver go down, or the will see the opportunity to add a receiver with Britts potential simply too good to pass up.
And maybe it’ll be the Eagles.
I mean, wouldn’t it be a shame if either Jeffrey or Agholar were to go down with a season-ending injury so close to the playoffs? Though Mack Hollins has shown some seriously enticing potential when given an opportunity to play, it would be foolish to bet the entire season, and a chance to finally bring the Lombardi Trophy down Broad Street on a player who’s only recorded 13-catches as a pro, and 81-catches in college.
Additionally, it would also be a shame if the Birds were to lose a game in the playoffs due to an incredible performance by Britt. Though this outcome is admittedly unlikely, on any given Sunday anything can happen, and stranger things have happened. Remember when the Seahawks plucked Chris Matthews, a player who was working at Footlocker at the time, out of obscurity and turned him into a 100-yard receiver in the Super Bowl? If the Eagles were to make it to the Super Bowl and lose to a team like the Patriots off of a big Britt performance it would be absolutely devastating.
Now I’m not saying that signing Britt guarantees the Eagles their first Super Bowl victory, but there are just too many connections between the New Jersey native and his hometown team. His connection to Groh, when paired with the Eagles deceptive need for a receiver and their previously reported interest in Britt may be worth offering him a no-risk two-year deal or at least an opportunity to bring him in for a tryout.
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Though Kenny Britt is far from the answer for the Philadelphia Eagles, he does offer a unique opportunity to improve the roster with little to no risk moving forward. If he can fit into the Eagles rock solid lockerroom dynamic and put the team first his addition to the team has no real downside.