Eagles Preseason: RB D'Andre Swift 'Made His Case' in Debut
The Philadelphia Eagles have a good amount of talented running backs on their roster right now.
In the preseason opener, however, Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott both sat out the game opening up opportunities for other players like newcomer D'Andre Swift.
Despite the loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia's newest back made a statement in a game many would consider otherwise unimportant.
"Swift made his case for a significant role," says NFL.com. "The former Lions running back got the start and played the first six snaps...Swift popped a dynamic 22-yard jaunt off a nice cut...The play exemplified the type of upside Swift owns if he can stay healthy."
Talent has never really been the issue with Swift going back to his days in Detroit, it's been his health as NFL.com pointed out.
In three NFL seasons, Swift has played no more than 14 games in a single season and has only started 16 in that stretch.
Rashaad Penny is another new player in the Eagles' stable and he brings his own set of health concerns as running backs tend to beyond their first contract.
On Saturday, Penny saw 27 snaps on the field with the offense and tallied 34 yards on nine carries, looking about as good as you'd expect coming off the injury he suffered last season.
After those two, third-year back Trey Sermon took over getting 16 carries and scoring from two yards out before young Kennedy Brooks took over for the rest of the contest.
Sermon himself is coming off two injury-filled seasons after being a standout with the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Clearly, Philadelphia is rolling the dice to a certain extent by bringing in and keeping so many running backs with extensive injury histories.
But as much as the Eagles' backfield is bringing injury concerns it's also bringing plenty of talent for opponents to be wary of.
And it only takes one or two to find a new level of health for these gambles to pay off big.
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