The Philadelphia Eagles gave another start to third-year cornerback Kelee Ringo on Sunday after a solid performance in his first start last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Ringo struggled with open-field tackling last week, but didn’t look lost in coverage, which was a huge plus.
However, quarterback Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos’ offense had a different plan in mind as they went after Ringo and Quinyon Mitchell. Ringo allowed four receptions (six targets) for 55 yards, along with three first downs.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Broncos targeted Ringo on a two-point conversion play (h/t @EmmanuelAcho), which they easily converted, giving them a lead. For many Eagles fans, Ringo’s outing was the least of their concerns, especially with what they saw from the offense.
Unfortunately, it's still not a good feeling knowing that the CB2 spot is not 100% percent solidified heading into Week 6. Now, Philadelphia fans are wondering how many more chances Ringo will be given until enough is enough.
Eagles Might Have Interesting Decision to Make About CB2 Going Forward
As much as a change is needed, it would be utterly shocking to see Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio move Ringo out of the starting lineup heading into Thursday night’s game against the New York Giants. There just aren't many options to replace him.
The Eagles got Adoree’ Jackson back for Sunday’s game against the Broncos after he missed Week 4 with a groin injury. However, Jackson barely played as he only got one defensive snap, which is quite telling.
Now, before Jackson went down with the groin injury, he played better in coverage in Weeks 2 and 3 after getting lit up in Week 1 by the Dallas Cowboys (106 yards on six completions/eight targets). In Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs, the veteran defensive back only gave up 26 yards on three completions/six targets. Then, he followed that up in Week 3, only allowing 23 yards on three completions/four targets against the Los Angeles Rams.
That said, if Ringo were to struggle against a Giants’ WR unit that doesn’t have nearly the same amount of talent (Wan’Dale Robinson and Darius Slayton) as the Broncos, it would force Fangio to go back to Jackson — an option who might not be 100%.
The crazy thing about this Eagles’ CB2 situation is that they could’ve avoided this constant back and forth if they re-signed Isaiah Rodgers, who is having a great start to the season with the Minnesota Vikings. The former Philly defender is currently the No. 2-graded cornerback in terms of coverage (90.1) and overall defense (85.9) on Pro Football Focus.
However, the Eagles can't get stuck in regrets and what-ifs. They need to hope that Ringo or Jackson can emerge as a steadying force, opposite of Mitchell; otherwise, the secondary could become one of Philly's most glaring issues.