Howie Roseman Claims Eagles' Plans Include Jalen Reagor
PHILADELPHIA - Actions speak louder than words when it comes to the NFL and personnel plans.
On Saturday night after the 2022 NFL Draft, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman ignored all the evidence to the contrary and doubled down when it came to Jalen Reagor's future in Philadelphia.
“Jalen Reagor is a Philadelphia Eagle and he's going to be here,” Roseman said of the embattled 2020 first-round pick. “We want to have good players in that room and good players on this team.
"He's worked tremendously hard to get in shape and come into this offseason program, and now he has an opportunity. We don't anticipate anything changing.”
Those are the words. Now to the actions.
Even before the Eagles' acquired two-time 1,000-yard receiver A.J. Brown on Thursday night, Nick Sirianni and the organization had shifted toward trumpeting speedy, third-year option Quez Watkins and free-agent pickup Zach Pascal, a long-time Sirianni favorite from Indianapolis, as complements to DeVonta Smith before Reagor, 23, when discussing the offense and the projections moving forward.
With Brown now in the mix, at best that would put Reagor at WR5, a far cry from where Roseman thought he would be at this stage when the Eagles selected him at No. 21 overall in the 2020 draft, one slot in front of Minnesota star Justin Jefferson.
More so, typically a fifth WR would be asked to help significantly on special teams and even though Reagor did that last season as the team's primary returner on punts and kicks, it's also clear that the Eagles have been searching for an upgrade there.
The team did significant homework on dynamic return man Marcus Jones of Houston, who ended up going in the third round to New England. Philadelphia also signed Olympic Hurdler Devon Allen, who just won the 110m hurdles in record time at the Penn Relays over the weekend, clocking in at 13.11, shattering the meet record that has stood since 1998 and setting the new benchmark for the world this year.
The Eagles then agreed to terms with undrafted Utah punt returner Britain Covey on Saturday night. Covey holds the Utes' career records for punt returns (92), punt return yards (1,092), and punt return touchdowns (4).
Through two seasons Reagor has accumulated just 64 receptions for 695 yards and three touchdowns.
From a business standpoint, the Eagles don't want to release Reagor because it would cost more to cut him than keep him on the 2022 salary cap and there is still some hope that an organization that liked Reagor in the 2020 draft process might take on the reclamation project.
Reagor recently scrubbed his social media accounts of any Eagles references and certainly would welcome a trade at this point.
An NFL source claimed that Roseman has been holding out for a third-round pick or a fourth and a sixth, which seems pie in the sky, meaning Reagor remains in stasis as a member of the team but one who is not expected to contribute.
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
