Philadelphia Eagles: Boston Scott’s future is anything but certain

In my humble opinion, the Philadelphia Eagles lost their Week 12 bout against the New York Giants when Boston Scott fumbled the ball with 1:39 left to play in the fourth quarter.

Now sure, technically, that isn’t correct. Jonathan Gannon‘s defense came up big on the next drive, allowing the New York Giants to gain only one positive yard from the field before stoping Daniel Jones for -1 yards on a designed run and sacking him for -8 on fourth down, but when the Eagles got the ball back at the 1:11 mark, they had to march 52 yards without a timeout to get into the endzone for a chance to secure a third-straight win.

Before Scott’s blunder, Philly had the momentum. They’d just recorded a good kick return by Jalen Reagor, pulled off three-straight positive plays, including an eight-yard catch by DeVonta Smith, and, at the Giants’ 45-yard line, looked primed to score their second touchdown of the half. Had Scott just secured the ball on that particular run, he’d be hailed a hero for yet another impressive showing versus his favorite foes, but instead, he’ll surely receive his share of the blame for a very winnable game going the wrong way.

But hey, it’s cool, right? I mean sure, that play stunk, but clearly, Nick Sirianni wasn’t deterred with continuing to use Boston Scott on the final drive of the game, even if he sort of had to do so out of necessity partially because Miles Sanders was knocked up with an earlier knee injury. Not necessarily. No, with Scott’s contract set to expire at the end of the season, one has to wonder what the future holds for the former LA Tech Bulldog in South Philadelphia.

Boston Scott has an uphill battle to stick with the Philadelphia Eagles.

The New York Giants should sign Boston Scott this offseason.

I know, I know, such a statement feels somewhat nonsensical, especially for a Philadelphia Eagles-covering blog, but my goodness, Scott just plays differently when he sees Giants red, white, and blue on the football field.

In five career games versus the Giants, Scott has rushed the ball 59 times for 286 yards and six touchdowns while supplementing his efforts with 218 passing yards on 16 receptions and an additional ariel touchdown to boot. That production alone accounts for 39 percent of Scott’s total offensive production as a pro, despite it only accounting for 12.5 percent of his regular season games.

If Scott could turn in that level of production in every game – earning roughly 100.8 yards on 19.6 touches per game – it would be huge for the 5-foot-6 rusher to secure a long and happy career at the NFL level, even if such a stat line is incredibly unlikely to replicate over a full season, as Eagles fans will tell ya.

So why, you may ask, would I make such a suggestion? Easy, because the chances of Scott returning to the Eagles in 2022 feels incredibly slim, especially if literally any other team wants to get in on the action.

For the vast majority of the season, Scott was an afterthought. He didn’t log a single rushing attempt over the first six weeks of the season, only caught two passes, and was only given four total offensive snaps over that tenure. While he eventually took the field in Week 7 and recorded double-digit carries from Weeks 8-10, Scott’s ceiling is as a change of pace back who confuses his foes with his diminutive size and provides some additional effectiveness as a receiver out of the backfield.

Want to know who else can provide that very same production? That’d be Kenneth Gainwell, who the Eagles drafted in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft and has turned in a few very good performances so far this season. Gainwell is bigger than Scott, a more dynamic receiver than Scott, and has shown an ability to impact the game as a north-south runner between the tackles. Regardless of how the Eagles choose to address their offensive backfield moving forward, it’s safe to say Gainwell will be a member of it in 2022.

Sidebar: You know, Gainwell hasn’t been a consistent member of the Eagles’ offense since Scott worked his way back into the fray, earning his first spot on the inactive list in Week 11. Jeez, Nick Sirianni, you don’t have to be so strict with your rotation.

When Jordan Howard’s name is removed from the injury report, we may finally get a clearer picture as to how the Philadelphia Eagles’ running back rotation will look for the remainder of the season. Will Miles Sanders continue to start? Will multiple players continue to rotate in and out of games, or will Nick Sirianni consolidate down his plan and go with a two-man rotation like his early-season efforts? Either way, keep an eye on number 35, as his production down the stretch could define his chances of sticking around. And hey, if things don’t work out, I would imagine New York would eagerly sign on to see if his magic works with the Giants or only against them.