Philadelphia Eagles: Re-signing Corey Clement has no downside

After a month apart, bringing back Corey Clement on a one-year, veteran minimum deal has virtually no downside for the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Philadelphia Eagles left the 2020 NFL Draft without selecting a running back.

They added receivers – a ton of receivers – offensive linemen and even a second-round quarterback in an attempt to take their offense to new heights, but for whatever reason, running back remained a need unfilled.

At least, until now.

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That’s right, after a little over a month apart, the Eagles have agreed to bring back Corey Clement on a one year, vet minimum deal to compete for snaps behind his 2019 teammates Miles Sanders and Boston Scott.

And really, this deal has virtually no downside for the Eagles.

Since rising to prominence as the Eagles’ Super Bowl hero in 2017 – both for his 100-yard receiving performance and for being one-third of the Philly Special – Clement has struggled to find a consistent role in the Eagles’ offense. Whether due to a string of injuries in 2018, or a Week 5 shoulder injury that landed the 25-year-old on IR in 2019, the timing just never felt right for Clement to establish himself as anything more than a part-time player for the Eagles over his rookie contract. After watching two straight seasons end with stints on IR, it wasn’t all too surprising that the Eagles opted against extending a restricted tender to Clement going into free agency.

What was surprising, however, was that Clement did not receive an offer in free agency.

Again, Clement’s fame is almost wholly linked to one game and one game only, and teams typically aren’t signing players who have never surpassed 500 all-purpose yards in a season. Still, there’s a lot to like about the former Wisconsin Badger’s game. Measuring in at 5-foot-10, 220 pounds, Clement is big enough to rush between the tackles in a zone-blocking scheme and smart enough to find lanes on the outside when allowed to rush into space. He may not be the fastest player in the league, as evidenced by his 4.68 40 yard dash, but Clement makes up for that with an ability to contribute as a pass-catcher on third-downs.

Clement isn’t particularly great at any one aspect of the game, but he does a little bit of everything well enough to wear multiple hats for an offense, even if he will forever be a player general managers are trying to replace with ‘better’ players.

Once the draft came and went without a meaningful running back added to the roster – no offense to UCF‘s Adrian Killins – bring back Clement was a borderline no-brainer.

Should the Eagles have instead opted to sign a proven workhorse between the tackles like Carlos Hyde (more on him here), or swung for the fences by targeting a former Pro Bowler like ex-Falcon Devonta Freeman? Totally, but who is to say either player would have been that much of an upgrade over Clement in a limited role? With training camp and OTAs a potential casualty of our current global situation, bringing back a player who already knows the scheme is a much safer bet.

And hey, according to NFL Insider Adam Caplan, the Eagles ‘should also add a veteran RB at some point’, so maybe Hyde and Freeman are still very much on the table later this spring.

Next. 2020 could make-or-break Derek Barnett’s career. dark

Is this the year Corey Clement finally gets over the hump and establishes himself as a long-term part of the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense; forming a young trifecta alongside Miles Sanders and Boston Scott? Maybe yes, maybe no, but if Clement can stay healthy for the first time since 2017, he should be able to at least compete with Elijah Holyfield for offensive snaps as the team’s short-yardage back if not return to his former glory as a run-pass threat when paired up with Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts in the offensive backfield.

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