Philadelphia Eagles: Hey, at least Greg Ward can catch the ball
After placing Rudy Ford on IR, the Philadelphia Eagles are taking another crack at bolstering their wide receiving corps with the (re)addition of Greg Ward.
Another week, another Philadelphia Eagles player heading to IR; what else is new?
The latest culprit? Rudy Ford, the ex-Arizona Cardinals safety from Auburn who played 216 of his 227 snaps on special teams through the first 10 games of the season.
While the premature end of Ford’s 2019 season could be detrimental for Dave Fipp‘s special teams unit, as the 5-foot-11 safety led all Eagles in special teams snaps by a noticeable margin, his exodus from the 53 man roster does present an opportunity to add yet another player to the seemingly endless string of replacement players who’ve called South Philly home for a week, a month, or the rest of the season.
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Fortunately, they didn’t have to look too far to find his replacement.
After making his NFL debut in Week 3 following a slew of practice squad stops and starts, Greg Ward has earned his second stint with the Eagles in yet another attempt to find a player who can, ya know, catch a pass from Carson Wentz.
Thankfully, Ward can do that at the bare minimum.
You see, Ward actually possesses a pretty interesting skill set for a bottom-of-the-roster wide receiver. Measuring in at a spry 5-foot-11, 190-pounds, the Texas native spent four years playing quarterback in the University of Houston‘s dynamic air raid offense, where he lead the team to a 30-10 record as the heir to Case Keenum.
With Ward on the field, the Eagles could incorporate a number of Patriots-esque wide receiver pass plays into their offense, and even replace Trey Burton in everyone’s favorite play, ‘The Philly Special’.
But hey, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here. Before you can run, you need to walk, and before the Eagles worry about adding an air of mystery to their offensive playcalling, they need to find receivers who can actually catch the ball.
If a dozen or so preseason games and a successful stint in the AAF is of any indication, Ward can do that. Ward is also 24, and baring another surprise addition, he’ll enter Week 12 as the Birds’ second-youngest wide receiver behind only JJ Arcega-Whiteside.
Fun fact, Ward only needs four catches to have more than JJAW on the season – how sad is that?
Eagles should be embarrassed over Michael Thomas statistic. dark. Next
While the cynical fan may assume that Greg Ward’s addition is nothing but a stopgap, a bandaid for a week, a month, or the rest of the season, he still has all the potential in the world as far as NFL prospects are concerned. If afforded a chance to shine, the Philadelphia Eagles could have a nice little player on their hands and if not, well, it can’t get much worse.