Philadelphia Eagles: The Packers look silly for cutting Travis Fulgham

The Green Bay Packers’ loss is the Philadelphia Eagles’ gain.

Are you ready for the softest, least offensive take in all of Philadelphia Eagles football? Travis Fulgham played really well in Week 5.

I know, I know, woah, I’m such a radical, but it’s true. In only his fifth professional game, his second as a member of the Eagles, Fulgham officially had himself a game, amassing 152 yards on 10 receptions in addition to his second touchdown in as many weeks.

Just for context, Fulgham accounted for 55 percent of the Eagles’ passing yards, 41 percent of their total yards, and darn near 100 percent of the midgame excitement for fans of the Philly faithful. Historically speaking, the Eagles haven’t had a receiver go for 150-plus yards since DeSean Jackson back in Week 1 of the 2019 season, which shouldn’t be at all surprising to anyone who has watched this team over the last two seasons.

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But I don’t want to talk about Fulgham’s star-making performance. No, I want to how Fulgham ended up in South Philly and why on earth the Green Bay Packers let him walk.

Now yes, technically the Detroit Lions drafted Fulgham in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft and made the initial decision to let him walk this summer, but added a pair of similar receivers in Geronimo Allison and Quintez Cephus during the offseason, making the former Old Dominion walk-on expendable. Granted, that idea looks goofy now, as Fulgham racked up more yards in Week 5 alone then that duo combined, but hey, that was the idea.

The Green Bay Packers, by contrast, notably did not add a single wide receiver in either the draft or free agency, and could desperately use a reliable number two receiver like Fulgham right now following Allen Lazard‘s assignment to IR.

Again, I get overlooking Fulgham. Even in Philadelphia, he had a relatively quiet camp when compared to the likes of Jalen Reagor, John Hightower, and Deontay Burnett, and ultimately failed to make the initial 53 man roster, but in Green Bay, the situation was notably different, as Fulgham lasted all of 10 days in Wisconsin before being handed his walking papers.

What on earth could he have done wrong to receive such a quick turnaround?

Did Green Bay attempt to pull off some sort of weird, Rex Ryan-esque inter-division espionage to learn about the Lions’ passing offense? It’s not like they signed another receiver to take his place.

As things presently stand, the Packers only have four wide receivers on their active roster in Davante Adams, Darrius Shepherd, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Malik Taylor. Even with a healthy Lazard and Equanimeous St. Brown, Fulgham is what, the fourth option in that receiving corps? Even if the Packers considered him the seventh-best option of the bunch, why not give the second-year pro a full shake on the 80-man preseason roster and try to stash him on the practice squad? Even coming out of college, Fulgham was considered a better prospect than Juwann Winfree, Robert Foster, and Reggie Begelton.

Make no mistake, I think the entire City of Brotherly Love is beyond grateful that the Packers’ brass cut Fulgham loose when they did, as midnight green clearly suits him, but the decision to allow him to walk could eventually come back to haunt Green Bay if Week 5 is a coming-out party instead of a statistical anomaly.

Next. The Philadelphia Eagles miss Malcolm Jenkins for one specific reason. dark

Scouting in the NFL is an inexact science. Sometimes you select a 6-foot-2, 225-pound All-Pac-12 performer out of Stanford in the second round and he gets absolutely missing person’d by a late Day 3 selection on his third team in two seasons. With that being said, the Green Bay Packers’ decision to wash their hands of Travis Fulgham not one fortnight after claiming him off waivers could ultimately be filed under the ‘gross negligence’ category of Brian Gutekunst’s permanent record if he continues to excel as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. Think Carson Wentz is making Fulgham look good? Imagine what Aaron Rodgers could do with the big-bodied technician.

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