Philadelphia Eagles: Releasing Destiny Vaeao is incredibly shortsighted
Less than a week after recording his first sack of the season, the Philadelphia Eagles have released Destiny Vaeao. But why do so with Timmy Jernigan still on IR?
With a home bout against the Carolina Panthers looming just over the horizon, the Philadelphia Eagles have decided to shake up their roster, and bolster their struggling secondary with a familiar face.
However, unlike the team’s decision to bring back fan favorite Jordan Matthews, this move appears incredibly shortsighted.
After two and a third season with the team, Howie Roseman and company have opted to move on from (apparently injured) rotational defensive tackle Destiny Vaeao in favor of bringing back ex-Maryland DB Dexter McDougle, a move that effectively robs Peter to pay Paul.
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When news broke that Sidney Jones was questionable for the team’s Week 7 showdown against Cam and company, it was clear that Philly needed to make some sort of move to shore up their secondary, but why do so at the expense of arguably the slightest position group on the roster?
Timmy Jernigan, please come back ASAP.
Now granted, Vaeao was hardly a world beater for the Eagles thus far this season, as he had only recorded six tackles so far this season, but he’d been a virtual stalwart of Jim Schwartz‘s battered defensive line, starting three of a possible six games so far this season.
Who’s going to start in Week 7 if neither Jernigan or Haloti Ngata can’t go, mid-season addition Treyvon Hester?
While Vaeao may not have been a world beater, the former Washington State Cougar at least understood the ins and outs of the system and could fill his gaps next to Fletcher Cox.
And god forbid, what if Cox were to go down with any sort of injury, or even just wants to take a few snaps off mid-game? We could be looking at a defensive pairing of Hester and… no one?
As of right now, the Eagles only have three defensive tackles on their active roster, which mean if Cox or Hester were to miss any playing time with Ngata inactive, the team would be forced to move a player like Michael Bennett inside full-time. Bennett may be an incredibly effective inside rusher, but he mostly does so mostly on obvious passing downs. If forced to play the position full time, Bennett’s lack of tackle size could be exploited fairly easily in the run game by much larger interior offensive lineman, and ruin the Eagles’ ability to control the time of possession.
Boy, this could go bad in a hurry.
Next. Rasul Douglas has officially made his debut at safety. dark
So, as Philly prepares for yet another contest at The Linc, one has to ask: Why release a player like Destiny Vaeao when Timmy Jernigan is still on IR without replacing him with another tackle? Your guess is as good as mine.