Philadelphia Eagles: What has happened to Corey Clement?

From Super Bowl hero to an afterthought for the Philadelphia Eagles, what has happened to Corey Clement?

It seems like decades have passed since the last time Corey Clement made a big play for the Philadelphia Eagles. Let’s be real, can anyone remember exactly what that play was? Heck, you may have to go back to his toe tapping touchdown from Nick Foles during Super Bowl 52. In that game, Clement had four receptions for 100 yards to go along with that monumental touchdown. He had gone from undrafted rookie, to making plays on the biggest stage of them all for his hometown team.

Sadly, as fast as he rose to fame in midnight green, he seems to have plummeted back into irrelevancy even faster.

A local kid from Glassboro, New Jersey, it was easy for Eagles fans to connect with the young running back. He was living out the dream of every single local kid who grew up playing the game of football. Heck, he is still living out that dream, even if it is not in the spotlight like that 2017 season.

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Heading into 2017, the Philadelphia Eagles unprecedentedly entered the season with five running backs on their roster because they did not want to lose Clement to another team. They believed they had found a diamond in the rough, and as mentioned already, they sure as heck did. Aside from his huge performance in the Super Bowl, Clement enjoyed a rather successful rookie season. 84 total offensive touches for 444 yards and six touchdowns is an impressive introduction to the NFL; especially considering he went undrafted.

2018 was another productive season, as Clement saw another 90 offensive touches resulting in 451 yards and another two scores. Unfortunately, his season ended prematurely as he suffered a severe knee injury and was placed on injured reserve on December 11th, 2018.

This has kind of been the narrative ever since then for Clement. His time with the Philadelphia Eagles has quickly taken a turn for the worse, as his 2019 season resulted in zero offensive touches before he was once again placed on injured reserve; this time due to a shoulder injury.

After being non-tendered by the Philadelphia Eagles, Clement ended up signing a one year contract, returning to Philadelphia for the 2020 season. Thus far, it has been pretty uninspiring. In fact, you could honestly forget Corey is on the roster at times. So far this season, he has had 22 offensive touches resulting in only 81 yards and zero touchdowns. A rather significant fall from grace.

To be fair, it was rather surprising of the birds to bring Clement back in 2020; and maybe it is more of an indictment on the front office being unable to move on from key members of the Super Bowl team that is now rather far away in the rear view mirror.

Look, this is not meant to bash Clement. He is one of the most likable players on the roster and is certainly a guy who is easy to root for. It is abundantly clear that the injuries that have ended his last two seasons have certainly left their mark, and it would be a shame to see them end up defining his career.

With Miles Sanders appearing to be ready to return after the bye week, who knows how much more of Clement handling the football for the Philadelphia Eagles we will see. Unfortunately in his limited chances this season, he hasn’t done much that would indicate he needs to be a bigger part of the offense moving forward. If we are reaching the end of the line for the Glassboro native in midnight green, we will always be able to hang our hats on the fact he showed up when he was needed most on the biggest stage. It just appears those times are long gone.