Jalen Reagor has brought back the Philadelphia Eagles

When the Philadelphia Eagles traded for A.J. Brown, it was fanatic news… for everyone except for Jalen Reagor.

No, despite being in the middle of his rookie contract, the addition of Brown and the $100 million extension he signed shortly thereafter effectively put the writing on the wall that the former first-round pick out of TCU is no longer a part of the Eagles’ future, and maybe not even their present either.

Now thrown into a bottom-of-the-roster competition with Greg Ward and John Hightower for one, maybe two roster spots, Reagor went from a potential WR1 who would take the Eagles’ offense to new heights to a player who will at best be used as a gadget guy who has to contribute on special teams to guarantee an active spot on game day. He’ll almost certainly never start over Brown and DeVonta Smith on the outside, and with Zach Pascal and Quez Watkins likely to split their playing time in the slot, there just isn’t a clear path for Reagor to see the field this fall or moving forward.

At the time, Jalen Reagor took A.J. Brown’s addition personally and deleted everything from his social media as a result, but suddenly, with the draft going on two weeks passed, the Philadelphia Eagles are back just in time for the most important training camp of his life.

Jalen Reagor has a lot to prove to the Philadelphia Eagles.

For the first time in what feels like forever, the Philadelphia Eagles are absolutely loaded at wide receiver.

They have a fantastic X receiver in A.J. Brown, who can win at the line of scrimmage and make plays after the catch, an unconventional though incredible flanker in DeVonta Smith, who is already one of the best route runners in the NFL, and a pair of intriguing interior options that can win in a variety of different ways from speedy go routes down the middle of the field, or underneath routes where only a handful of yards are needed.

Factor in a pair of pass-catching tight ends in Dallas Goedert and Grant Calcaterra and a collection of running backs who can catch the ball, from Kenneth Gainwell to Miles Sanders, and getting any sort of plus production out of a fifth or even sixth wide receiver on anything but special teams feels like an unnecessity luxury; a fifth piece of cake, if you will.

And yet, what more can Jalen Reagor do but try? After reportedly being available during the draft, it’s clear his market wasn’t particularly robust, and Howie Roseman viewed retaining his services as a better investment than, say, a seventh-round pick in 2023.

The easiest way for Reagor to see the field? Get really good at returning kicks and punts.

In 2021, Reagor’s efforts on special teams left a lot to be desired. He seemingly had no touch for when to field a ball and when to let it go into the endzone, muffed multiple punts, and averaged just 7.32 yards per punt and 21.25 yards per kick return, which rank 50th and 57th league-wide. With no clear answer to the Birds’ return game issues acquired over the offseason, unless, of course, Oregon wide receiver-turned Olympian Devon Allen proves revolutionary at the position, Reagor might just be Michael Clay‘s best option to provide positive results in the field position game.

And if not? Well, Jordan Mailata was drafted in the seventh round, so if some team comes calling with a conditional pick once it becomes apparent Reagor hasn’t made the regular season roster, giving him a chance to play elsewhere isn’t the worst idea either, as both sides feel like they would benefit from a change of scenery.

Jalen Reagor has been through a lot since being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles. He’s played under two different head coaches, in two different offensive systems, and with two different starting quarterbacks, all the while having to try his best to perform while Justin Jefferson took the NFL by storm in Minnesota. While the chances of Reagor earning a second contract in South Philly have gone down considerably since A.J. Brown came to town, his run in midnight green may prove fruitful yet, even if it’s more as a gadget guy/special teams ace than a focal point of Nick Sirianni’s offense.