USA Today
Corey Clement placed on Injured Reserve for 2nd straight year
The Eagles’ running back group suffered another loss on Friday when Corey Clement was put on Injured Reserve with a shoulder injury and back Boston Scott was promoted from the practice squad.
Clement, who is a restricted free agent after the season, hurt the shoulder in Week Two against the Atlanta Falcons while returning the second-half kickoff, a play on which he lost a fumble.
Running back Darren Sproles, who suffered a quad injury in last week’s win over the New York Jets, is considered week-to-week. It took Sproles 10 weeks to recover from a hamstring injury last year.
Without Sproles, the Eagles will likely turn to receiver Nelson Agholor to return punts on Sunday when they play in Minnesota.
Scott was signed late last season from the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad and returned kickoffs in the final two regular season games and the Eagles’ two playoff games. He has never returned punts in the NFL or while in college at Louisiana Tech, but he has been working on that and may be given an opportunity to do it at some point.
Whether or not that chance comes on Sunday when the Eagles visit Minnesota is unclear. The punt returning job will likely fall to receiver Nelson Agholor.
“I’ve been working on it,” said Scott on Friday. “It’s more about repetitions and how much you can do it, so the more you do it the better you get at it. It’s about getting more comfortable, calming down and making the right decisions.”
Scott said he has been preparing each week as if he would start, not just play.
“Preparation is what leads to your success,” said Scott. “No matter whether you’re the bottom of the depth chart - I was a walk-on at Louisiana Tech - or you’re starting and preparing for that opportunity, it’s all about your preparation and how you handle each day. I was taking notes as if I was going to play up to this point.”
Depending on how Scott does, the Eagles could look to add another running back in a trade – perhaps Kenyan Drake could be pried loose from the Miami Dolphins – or they could look to the free agent market, where Jay Ajayi is reportedly healthy again after an ACL injury ended his 2018 season with the Eagles.
LeGarrette Blount, who helped the Eagles win a Super Bowl in 2018, is also an option. Blount played 16 games last year with the Lions, making eight starts.
He averaged a career-low 2.7 yards per carry, but scored five touchdowns. At 32, it is fair to wonder if he has much left in a career that began in 2010.
As for Clement, this is the second straight year his season ended on IR.
Last year, a knee injury limited him to 11 games. In those 11 games, Clement ran 68 times for 259 yards (3.8 yards per carry) with two touchdowns. He added 22 receptions for 192 yards (8.7 yards per catch). He played 22 percent of the offensive snaps.
This year’s injury happened in Atlanta when he fumbled the second-half kickoff.
Clement hasn’t been himself since the Eagles’ Super Bowl season when he made the team as an undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin and accounted for six touchdowns (four rushing, two receiving) and added a TD catch in Super Bowl LII.
He is a restricted free agent after the season.
