Philadelphia Eagles: How was your 2019, Josh Adams?
After being waived in the final trim down to 53, Josh Adams spurned the Philadelphia Eagles to sign with the New York Jets’ practice squad. Bad call.
For the second straight season, the Philadelphia Eagles‘ running game found an unexpected spark with a midseason practice squad elevation, but with all eyes firmly placed on current NFC Player of the Week Boston Scott, I got to thinking: Whatever happened to Josh Adams?
Yes, Josh Adams, the UDFA standup rusher out of Notre Dame who inexplicably finished out the 2018 season with 511 yards on the ground.
How do you go from being a team’s leading rusher – even a team as bad at running the ball as the Eagles – to persona non grata? Easy, you sign with the New York Jets.
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It all started back in April, when Howie Roseman traded a future mid-round pick to the Chicago Bears for souped-up Adams clone Jordan Howard. Alright, having two big, bruising rushers isn’t great for the former’s chances of making the team in 2019, but it’s far from a death knell.
And then the draft happened.
With two picks in the second round and a distinct need for more offensive talent, Roseman finished out his offensive trifecta, also including Andre Dillard and JJ Arcega-Whiteside with another running back – this time plug-and-play stop-on-a-dimer Miles Sanders.
Factor in Darren Sproles’ decision to not retire again, for like the third year in a row, and suddenly finding a spot for a too-tall running back who was benched in the playoffs wasn’t too big of a priority for Doug Pederson and company.
Waived in the initial trim down to 53, Adams got a little bit of revenge by spurning gang green for the other gang green a few miles up the Jersey Turnpike, where he sat until a Week 10 elevation bumped him onto the active roster.
Mind you, this is the same Jets squad that had already locked do-it-all rusher Le’Veon Bell into a massive contract following a year-long hiatus from the field in 2018, but everyone needs a solid backup, especially a runner who likes to moonlight at wide receiver.
That logic is sound, but boy did things not turn out as intended.
With their season derailed by Sam Darnold‘s spleen back in September, the Jets were pretty much eliminated from playoff consideration by the time now out-of-the-league starting quarterback Luke Falk took 10 sacks in Week 5. Now conventional wisdom would suggest that when a season goes that far off the rails that early, it’s a perfect chance for a head coach to try out some of his younger players, but stubborn as ever Adam Gase didn’t do that.
No, despite being fully recovered from an offseason shoulder injury that required surgery, Adams didn’t receive a carry until Week 11 and finished out the season with eight carries for 12 yards in three games of action.
Boston Scott had 19 carries in Week 17 alone for 54-yards on the ground, for a playoff-bound team no less.
Next. Please, please, please make Rasul Douglas a safety. dark
Now I’m not saying Josh Adams would be the Philadelphia Eagles late-season hero had he not chased greener pastures, as Boston Scott has a radically different skill set, but maybe his plight can serve as a cautionary tale for other players down the line: Never leave the City of Brotherly Love for the New York Jets.