Why doesn’t Tarik Cohen want to be traded to the Philadelphia Eagles?
In sports, more so than any other industry, actions speak louder than words.
Chip Kelly definitely wasn’t leaving Oregon to join the Philadelphia Eagles… until he did. The Philadelphia Eagles weren’t going to move on from Chip Kelly… until they did. Doug Pederson was safe… until he was fired. Heck, even outside of football, Daryl Morey was going to take some time off from basketball right before he signed on to serve as the Executive President of Basketball Operations for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Granted, there are times where a team’s word is their bond. Jeffery Lurie has said Howie Roseman’s job is safe, and that may just be the understatement of the century, as those two may watch the franchise burn to the ground like the ‘This Is Fine‘ dog.
But as a general rule, if a player is heavily speculated in trade talks but is assured by his head coach/general manager that they definitely aren’t going to be traded, there’s a pretty good chance he might get traded if the right deal comes together.
Meet Tarik Cohen, the reluctant potential Philadelphia Eagles tradee.
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The 2017 NFL Draft was a one-player affair for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Riding high off the success of the first year of both Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz, Howie Roseman and company kind of, sort of mailed it in, in what just might go down as one of the all-time stinkers in franchise history. Sure, it gets largely overlooked because the Birds ultimately won the Super Bowl during the forthcoming season and got some pretty good production out of veteran additions like Alshon Jeffery, Ronald Darby, and Timmy Jernigan, but their draft class? Not so much.
Making selections from a Philly-centric stage fabricated directly in front of the Art Museum steps made famous by one Rocky Balboa, Roseman and company had eight selections to handpick the next crop of Philadelphia Eagles in front of the City of Brotherly Love’s finest. Of those eight selections, two never played a snap in the NFL, seven were waived at one point or another – some multiple times – and only one, Derek Barnett, is expected to be back with the team in 2021.
To make matters worse, in a draft now remembered for being historically deep at the running back position, the Eagles traded up to selected Donnel Pumphrey 132nd overall, a historic bust who never played a snap in the NFL and was waived multiple times by the team despite being the NCAA’s all-time leading rusher coming out of college.
Would you like to know some players selected after Pumphrey? Well, Green Bay took Jamaal Williams two picks later out of BYU, the Colts landed their lead rusher, Marlon Mack, with the second to last pick in the fourth round, and George Kittle was stolen by the 49ers 14 picks later.
Unfortunately, picking Pumphrey wasn’t the only time the Eagles made the wrong selection. No, they took Barnett when they could have drafted Marlon Humphrey, took Sidney Jones over JuJu Smith-Schuster, took Rasul Douglas over Eddie Jackson, and maybe most egregiously of all, took Mack Hollins out of the University of North Carolina when there was a perfectly good running back by the name of Tarik Cohen still on the board who played ball right down the road at North Carolina A&T.
But hey, don’t worry. Roseman very well may have a chance to make right on that last one in quite possibly the weirdest, most roundabout way imaginable.
Now, as you may or may not know, the Philadelphia Eagles are reportedly fielding feverish phone calls to try to land the best package possible for ex-franchise quarterback Carson Wentz. Per our city’s own Natalie Egenolf, the Bears have reportedly offered a package that centers around a first-round pick, our old pal Nick Foles, and yes, Mr. Tarik Cohen.
While many have scratched their head about Cohen’s inclusion in the deal, as he’s currently the proud owner of the 10th most lucrative contract of any running back in the NFL despite having only surpassed 1,000 all-purpose yards once in his four-year career, it honestly makes sense if you look at the Eagles historically.
Why? Because from Jason Huntley to Boston Scott, and even Pumphrey, the Eagles have been looking for the second coming of Darren Sproles ever since his first year under Pederson in 2016.
In theory, the idea tracks. Cohen stands an identical 5-foot-6, 191 pounds, is similarly effective as both a rusher and a receiver, and even earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2018 for leading the league in punt return yards – a feat Sproles accomplished twice in 2014 and 2015. While it doesn’t make a ton of sense to trade for a running back making five times as much as Miles Sanders on average when we don’t even know if Nick Sirianni wants to run an offense with a diminutive playmaker backing up his elusive starter, as the Colts largely shied toward bigger power rushers, adding a playmaker in a deal for Wentz will make the deal look slightly better, especially if he can return to his 2018 form.
With that being said, it doesn’t sound like Cohen is all that interested in leaving the deep dish pizza laden shadows of Wrigley Field for the land of roast pork and broccoli rob.
Boy, have the Eagles really fallen that low that players would rather stick with the Bears? My goodness, are we all the ‘This Is Fine’ dog?
Taking to Twitter, as one tends to do during this modern age, Cohen assured fans in the Windy City that he’d be sticking around after having good conversations with both his head coach and GM. While that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s vehemently opposed to the idea of donning a midnight green jersey, maybe even one with the number 46, it’s hard not to read the message as being a tad anti-Eagles.
https://twitter.com/TarikCohen/status/1358255667006627841?s=20
I don’t know about you, but I read that as a threat.
Now again, it really doesn’t matter what Matt Nagy and/or Ryan Pace had to say on said phone call(s). If Roseman rings the phone at 920 Football Drive and accepts the deal offered his way, there really isn’t much Cohen can do to stop the deal from going down outside of holding out or opting to retire. But why would Cohen explicitly speak out about said reported move when nine times out of ten players will avoid commenting?
Honestly, your guess is as good as mine.
Even at his best, Cohen is not an every-down rusher, just like how Sproles was never a true bell cow back in his tenures with the Eagles, Saints, or Chargers. Cohen initially split minutes with our old pal Jordan Howard from 2017-18, and then paired up with Iowa State rusher David Montgomery from 2019-on. Even if his bag of tricks overlaps a tad more with that of Sanders than either of his former foils, there’s still little reason to believe the duo couldn’t co-exist over playing well off each other or even together.
Honestly, the person who should really be upset is Boston Scott, as he’d be the one taking the biggest hit if Cohen ultimately ends up and Eagle.
Next. Remembering Carson Wentz’s fantastic 2017 run. dark
Who knows, maybe Tarik Cohen just really loves Chicago. Maybe he likes being a Bear, likes Matt Nagy/Bill Lazor’s offensive system, or just really doesn’t like the process of moving. Maybe he’s worried that Howie Roseman would execute the opt-out clause in his contract after the 2021 season, and he’d never get to see the more lucrative years of $17.25 million deal? But honestly, unless the Philadelphia Eagles’ external reputation has sunk that low, there’s little reason to believe he couldn’t be successful in a midnight green uniform. Nick Sirianni had a ton of success with Nahim Hynes in Indianapolis, and the Philly fanbase certainly has a thing for the little guy, both physically and metaphorically. In that regard, I imagine he’ll be changing his Twitter tune in no time.