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January 11, 2022

Eagles notes: Roster moves review, Jonathan Gannon drawing interest

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Jason_Huntley_Eagles_Camp_Frese.jpg Kate Frese/PhillyVoice

Eagles RB Jason Huntley

There were a bunch of Philadelphia Eagles news tidbits on Monday, so let's round them all up here and sort through what they mean, beginning with some roster moves.

The Eagles activated 11 players off of their COVID list

On Monday of last week, 12 Eagles players went on the Eagles' COVID list, all of whom were either starters or role players who typically play a healthy number of snaps. In advance of the Eagles' meaningless matchup against the Cowboys on Saturday night, Jason Kelce was activated from the list and played precisely one snap, keeping his 122-game ironman streak alive. The rest remained on the COVID list through the weekend.

On Monday, all 11 remaining players were activated. They will not be tested for COVID for the remainder of the season.

WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside is headed to injured reserve

Arcega-Whiteside has played a blue collar role for the Eagles this season, mostly as a blocker on the perimeter and on special teams. On Saturday night, he reminded us why the ball almost never comes his way, when he dropped what should have been a touchdown against the Cowboys. 

Arcega-Whiteside is having finger surgery.

TE Tyree Jackson is headed to injured reserve

One of the Eagles' training camp and preseason standouts this summer was Jackson, who dazzled with his unmissable size and impressive athleticism. Unfortunately, he got hurt during joint practices against the Patriots, and he missed the first eight weeks of the regular season, becoming something of an afterthought during the regular season.

Heading into Week 18, Jackson had zero catches on two targets. Against Dallas he got his first NFL catch, which also happened to be a touchdown.

He tore his ACL later in the game.

In the short-term, Richard Rodgers will take Jackson's spot on the roster. Rodgers might actually be a more reliable player in the playoffs than a raw, young guy like Jackson.

In the long-term, it's a really tough blow for Jackson, who will have to rehab all offseason, and could face an uphill climb to make the roster again in 2022. 

RB Jason Huntley was elevated to the active roster from the practice squad

Huntley showed some juice both as a returner and as a runner against the Cowboys. If Miles Sanders is ready to play against the Buccaneers this Sunday, it'll be hard to have five running backs active, but Huntley is pretty clearly the best kick returner on the roster.

Jonathan Gannon drawing some head coaching interest

According to a report from Tom Pelissero, the Broncos requested to interview Gannon for their head coaching vacancy.

Before the Eagles' practice squad players' 51-26 loss to the Cowboys last Saturday night, the Eagles were top 8 in the NFL both in yards and points, an impressive-sounding stat that didn't always match the eye test. 

The Eagles' defense has been good against bad quarterbacks, but very bad against good ones. A visual:

Opposing QB QB rating vs. Eagles 
Dak Prescott, Cowboys (Week 3) 143.3 
Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs 131.1 
Justin Herbert, Chargers 123.2 
Derek Carr, Raiders 113.6 
Tom Brady, Buccaneers 102.1 
Jimmy Garoppolo, 49ers 100.6 
Daniel Jones, Giants 94.0 
Jared Goff, Lions 90.6 
Zach Wilson, Jets 83.9 
Garrett Gilbert, WFT 81.9 
Taylor Heinicke, WFT 81.6 
Teddy Bridgewater, Broncos 79.2 
Trevor Siemian, Saints 74.4 
Matt Ryan, Falcons 71.6 
Jake Fromm / Mike Glennon, Giants 46.8 
Sam Darnold, Panthers 44.5 
*Week 18 practice squad game omitted.

Gannon is probably a longshot to land a head coaching job, but it's at least interesting that some teams around the league are intrigued by him.


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