March 21, 2022
According to a source, the Philadelphia Eagles have agreed to terms with former Colts WR Zach Pascal. It is a one-year deal.
During Nick Sirianni's very first press conference after he became head coach of the Eagles, he named Pascal among 13 players that he felt he built special relationships with in his previous coaching stops.
I've been blessed to be around some unbelievable football players that I've built great relationships with, that I've went through battles with, and went through the ups and downs of a season. That's a special relationship that you're able to build with a player and a coach, and I value that.
I'd just like to mention a couple of them. And I know I'll leave some out again, but Philip Rivers, Keenan Allen, Dontrelle Inman, Tyrell Williams, Zach Pascal, T.Y. Hilton, Jacoby Brissett, Andrew Luck, Jack Doyle, Nyheim Hines, Danny Woodhead, Ryan Kelly and Quenton Nelson. It's been great just to get to know these guys and be in that room and be in the battle with them every single day. I can't wait to build those same relationships with the players here in Philadelphia.
Before the Eagles' final preseason game in 2021, Sirianni said that he showed the team video cutups of players who went into the final preseason game on the roster bubble and sort of stamped their ticket onto the final 53-man roster. Pascal was among those players that Sirianni showed the team.
And then finally, Pascal was integral in Sirianni's "dawg mentality" theme that the Eagles adopted in Sirianni's rookie head coaching season, as documented in a great story by Zach Berman of The Athletic.
As an actual football signing, Pascal isn't the splashiest player on the market, but he could be a meat and potatoes guy with a smaller role in the Eagles' offense, likely as a slot receiver.
Over the last four seasons, Pascal has played in 64 games for the Colts, starting 44. His production isn't impressive, as he has averaged 38 catches for 472 yards and 4 TDs per season, despite ample playing time. It's perhaps noteworthy that Pascal was more productive and on an upward trajectory when Sirianni was the offensive coordinator, but his numbers took a dip after Sirianni left for Philly and he had to play with Carson Wentz.
| Zach Pascal | Rec | Yards | YPC | TD |
| 2018 | 27 | 268 | 9.9 | 2 |
| 2019 | 41 | 607 | 14.8 | 5 |
| 2020 | 44 | 629 | 14.3 | 5 |
| 2021 | 38 | 384 | 10.1 | 3 |
A highlight reel from the 2020 season can be found here. Pascal has good size at 6'2, 219, and he has earned a reputation in Indy as one of the best blocking wide receivers in the NFL. For example:
Zach Pascal with a MONSTER chip 👀 pic.twitter.com/hGL7zo31M7
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) December 14, 2020
If Sirianni wants a dirty work kind of receiver in his offense, like J.J. Arcega-Whiteside was in 2021, Pascal could be that guy, but with some ability to actually catch a football on occasion as well.
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