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Malcolm Jenkins Will be Graduation Speaker for Philly Schools

The safety no longer plays for the Eagles but he is still attached to the city plus more on the rule change that was tabled during NFL owners' virtual meeting
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Malcolm Jenkins played his last football game in Philadelphia.

Well, at least until the New Orleans Saints are scheduled to visit Lincoln Financial Field on Dec. 13, because he is now a member of Who Dat Nation.

Jenkins isn’t done with Philly, however.

The former Eagles safety will be the keynote speaker for the Philadelphia School District during its graduation ceremonies on June 9. The ceremony will be done online due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, so Jenkins’ speech will be virtual.

On the Philadelphia Schools Twitter account, it was announced on Thursday that Jenkins is “a leader on & off the field (and) is the perfect person to celebrate the resiliency and promise of our Class of 2020 grads!”

Jenkins was very active in the Philadelphia community during his six seasons in Philly, a run that came to an end in March when the Eagles decided to release Jenkins from his contract.

He quickly opted to return to New Orleans, the city where his career began when the Saints drafted him 14 overall out of Ohio State in 2009.

Jenkins made all 96 starts after joining the Eagles as a free agent in 2014 and quickly became one of the team’s leaders.

Rule Change Nixed

The NFL owners opted to table the fourth-and-15 play that would have replaced onside kicks. The proposal put forth by the Eagles would have given teams an opportunity to put the ball at their own 25-yard line and try to convert a fourth-and-15 to keep the ball.

It would have eliminated the onside kick.

It is the second straight year the proposal has been voted down.

Steelers president Art Rooney II said: “We really weren’t in favor of this one. This one was a little too much of a gimmick.”

Perhaps the most significant change to come out of Thursday’s virtual meeting with NFL owners was the ability for teams to designate three players to return from Injured Reserve during the season, up from two that had been allowed previously.

Another change of note is expanding the defenseless player protection to a kickoff or punt returner who is in possession of the ball but who has not had time to avoid or ward off the impending contact of an opponent.

Also, teams are now prevented from manipulating the game clock by committing multiple dead ball fouls while the clock is running, a tactic the Titans used in their playoff win over the Patriots in last year’s playoffs.