Le’Raven Clark finally gets a shot with the Philadelphia Eagles
Le’Raven Clark has been a member of the Philadelphia Eagles since May 19th, 2021.
His signing didn’t garner national headlines or change the team’s projected win total one way or another, but considering his pre-existing relationship with Nick Sirianni during their shared tenure in Indianapolis, it felt like a logical, low-key good signing.
Had Clark showed up and shown out during the preseason, maybe he’d have inspired enough confidence in the front office to ship out Andre Dillard for a Day 2 draft pick return, but between some minor injuries and the impressive play of 2019’s first-round pick, it wasn’t meant to be. Clark was waived, re-signed to the practice squad, and spent the back half of September on the practice squad’s reserve/injured, which apparently, is a thing.
Since being activated on October 6th, Clark has been elevated to the active roster twice, in Weeks 4 and 6, and protected by the team four times, most recently ahead of the team’s Week 13 bout against the New York Giants.
And now? Now Le’Raven Clark is officially a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, as the team has released Mac McCain III and signed the former third-round pick out of Texas Tech for the rest of the season.
Le’Raven Clark’s patience with the Philadelphia Eagles has paid off.
Upon being released by the Philadelphia Eagles coming out of camp, Ian Rapoport reported that multiple teams were interested in signing Le’Raven Clark to their practice squad.
On paper, that external interest made sense. Clark was a very experienced lineman reserve with 47 games, 15 starts, and 1,036 offensive snaps under his belt over a four-year tenure with the Indianapolis Colts. After proving that he’d fully healed up from a late-2020 Achilles tear, Clark could have surely helped many a team with legitimate title hopes shore up their depth on the practice squad, but instead, he opted to stick around in South Philly a little longer, in the hopes of learning more from one of the best offensive line coaches in the NFL, Jeff Stoutland.
Considering Stoutland’s track record of keeping the Eagles’ offensive line among the best units in the league since his hiring in 2013, despite coaching under three different regimes, Clark’s interest in learning under Philly’s most-tenured assistant makes a ton of sense.
While Clark has yet to see the field for Philly in 2021 on the offensive end of the field, Eagle-eyed fans may recall seeing number 74 on the field for approximately six special teams snaps in Weeks 4 and 5, three per contest to be exact. Will that change in Week 15, once Philly returns from the Bye? Only time will tell, but the option is very much on the table.
Next. Philadelphia Eagles name Jason Kelce their Walter Payton nominee. dark
With Jack Driscoll headed to IR and Jason Kelce not guaranteed to retake the field for Week 15 after going down with a nasty-looking injury versus the New York Giants, the Philadelphia Eagles were going to need to address their offensive line one way or another heading into the Bye. Of the options available on their practice squad, on other teams’ practice squads, and on the open market, signing Le’Raven Clark, even at the expense of one of the team’s dozen defensive backs, was by far the path of least resistance. Whether he plays a little, a lot, or simply rejoins Michael Clay‘s special teams unit, it’s clear the Eagles are a better team with Clark on their active roster than their practice squad, as his experience studying under Jeff Stoutland will surely pay dividends one day.