Philadelphia Eagles need to bring in ex-Lions rusher Ameer Abdullah

After striking out at the trade deadline and they’re running back search, the Philadelphia Eagles should add a second former Lion in Ameer Abdullah.

After narrowly squeaking out a win against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, the Philadelphia Eagles just had one of the best bye weeks in recent memory (more on that here).

Not only did the team pick up Golden Tate to help shore up their fledgling offense, but Timmy Jernigan has also officially been cleared to practice with the team moving forward, a much-needed addition that may turn out to be even more valuable down the stretch. Couple that with all three other NFC East teams losing, including the Dallas Cowboys and recently acquired Amari Cooper on Monday Night Football, and it’s hard not to feel optimistic about the Eagles chances of making the playoffs for the second year in a row.

And today, in a true wink of the eye from the football gods, Howie Roseman has been given a second chance to pick up a high-upside rotational running back after striking out at the trade deadline.

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And the best part? The team doesn’t even have to give up an asset to bring him in.

Sounds too good to be true, right?

Well, much like Sam Bradford a few days prior, the Detroit Lions have officially decided to waive third-year running back Ameer Abdullah after failing to secure a trade on Halloween, and if the Eagles are smart, he’ll be at the NovaCare Center by mid-week, preparing to face off against the Cowboys when they arrive at Lincoln Financial Field for a Sunday Night Football brawl.

Now, would adding Abdullah to the offensive backfield serve as a magic pill that could turn the team around like Jay Ajayi did a little over one year prior? No, but the former second-round pick from Nebraska does provide some serious potential that could pay dividends this season, and maybe even offer some further upside going into 2020.

While a change of scenery could do wonders for the talented-but-as-of-yet-ineffective playmaker, linking him up with a certified running backs guru like Duce Staley could put an ultra-high character player like Abdullah’s career back on track, and finally transform him into the dark horse fantasy darling that many assumed he would be back in 2016 (he killed my team that year).

Why? Because Abdullah is not only a great running back between the tackles, but he can also be a receiving threat out of the backfield.

Doug Pederson‘s offense has been desperate for yards after the catch this season, and while Tate’s addition will certainly help to fix that discrepancy, as he’s the second most effective YAC receiver since entering the league in 2010, for his hybrid West Coast scheme to truly be firing on all cylinders, the team needs to find a rusher who can also catch passes and make people miss in the run-pass option.

Is Abdullah the second coming of Brian Westbrook? Probably not, but he could be an incredibly low-risk, high-reward waiver claim who could pay dividends both now and moving forward for the Philadelphia Eagles? Very possibly. And hey, if he doesn’t work out, or can’t get past his current case of fumble-itus, then who cares, the team can just draft his, and Ajayi’s successor with one of their three draft picks in the first two round come 2020. No harm, no foul.