Philadelphia Eagles: Hardballing Devonta Freeman looks rather foolish

Boy, the Philadelphia Eagles could use a player like Devonta Freeman right now.

After failing to land a difference-making running back in either the initial wave of free agency or the 2020 NFL Draft, news broke that the Philadelphia Eagles were in the market to add a veteran back to fill out their offensive backfield alongside incumbent starter Miles Sanders, 2019 breakout scatback Boston Scott, and ‘ole reliable Corey Clement.

In theory, the idea tracked. Since Doug Pederson came to town in 2016, the Birds have never committed to a rushing curriculum centered around a single ‘bell-cow back’, instead utilizing a running back-by-committee approach with a pretty eclectic collection of backs ranging from powerful (Jay Ajayi, Josh Adams, Jordan Howard, LeGarrette Blount) to finesse (Miles Sanders, Darren Sproles, Boston Scott) and everything in between (Wendell Smallwood, Corey Clement).

However, there’s a clear issue with running a scheme built around one player: What if he gets hurt?

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Well, with a Week 1 bout against Washington’s Football Team fast approaching, the Eagles will have to find out, as Sanders will not make the trek down I-95 for a Sunday afternoon bout, instead sticking around in South Philly with starting defensive end Derek Barnett to continue his rehabbing process. In his stead, the Eagles will have to rely on a trio of running backs – Scott, Clement, and waiver wire claim Jason Huntley – to pick up yards and move the chains for the Birds in a deceptively tricky game against ex-assistant coach Ron Rivera‘s new team.

The average age of that group? 24.

Why is this really relevant? Well, it’s hard to say you want to add some age and experience to a group when the oldest player is a second-year UDFA in the middle of a three-year rookie-scale contract.

In hindsight, maybe the Eagles shouldn’t have been quite so steadfast in their desire to avoid paying more than the veteran minimum to add an older rusher to their backfield, as it effectively priced themselves out of a relatively inexpensive market of rushers who would instantly rise to the top of their current depth chart without so much as a question. Carlos Hyde, who eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark for the first time in his six-year NFL career last fall, signed a one-year deal worth $4 million to join the Seattle Seahawks as a rotational back following a fruitless run through free agency.

Now I can see why the Eagles didn’t want to get into a bidding war versus the Seahawks for Hyde’s services – frankly, I can see negative 64 million reasons why – but it’s not like he was the only solid veteran rusher on the open market. No, in fact, one of said free agent running backs is actually still on the open market and could have conceivably signed a deal with the Eagles the second Sanders came up funny with a hamstring injury: Devonta Freeman.

But why didn’t they? Again, Sanders has been featured on the Eagles’ injury report in one way or another for the better part of a month, did the front office really think he’d suddenly heal up in time for Week 1 and remain perfectly healthy for the next four-to-five months? How is that working out for Lane Johnson, who will forever be a tweaked ankle away from disaster this fall (more on that here)?

While Sanders has been fairly resilient over his football career injury-wise, pairing him up with a violent rusher with a similar style but a bit more power feels rather obvious, no? Granted, it’s clear Freeman’s market isn’t quite as robust as he’d hoped when he turned down an initial offer from the Seahawks and then subsequently fired his agent, but is that really worth sitting out a full season in the hopes of landing a better deal next spring when the cap will surely dip to compensate a season with limited fans?

Freeman has negotiated himself into a corner and with only the Eagles and the Jaguars left looking for a running back at this stage of the game, it’s hard to imagine the 28-year-old turning down another contract assuming it’s not at an insulting number.

But let’s be honest; Howie Roseman isn’t going to be offering Freeman a contract.

Next. Light a prayer candle for Lane Johnson’s ankle. dark

Much like at right tackle, the Philadelphia Eagles are going to hold fast to their current depth chart, maybe shuffle around a player here or there from their practice squad, and generally trust their scouting department to sort out their positional depth with a next-man-up mentality. Will it work? It sure did in 2017, but recall that that season, the Eagles received a major jolt of mid-season adrenaline with the addition of trade deadline acquisition Jay Ajayi. Call me naive, but I’d rather lock that player up before the season than have to surrender a fourth in October after a string of ugly showings forces the team’s hand.

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