The expectation is Britain Covey will Return Punts vs Detroit Lions
It seems likely that Britain Covey will be returning punts for the Eagles in Detroit when the season begins on Sunday against what looks like a feisty Lions team.
Head coach Nick Sirianni said on Thursday there are options, but it looks like only one.
Right now, Covey, the undrafted free agent from Utah, is the only one with any experience, and that came only in college. He is on the practice squad.
The last thing the Eagles want is to rehash the 2007 trip they took to Green Bay when Greg Lewis muffed a punt that led to a Packers touchdown and, with less than a minute to play, J.R. Reed stepped up into traffic and muffed the catch. Green Bay recovered and kicked a 42-yard field goal to notch a 16-13 win.
Neither Lewis nor Reed had ever returned a punt in the NFL until trying to do it that day. Their two muffs cost the Eagles 10 points.
There’s no Greg Ward around to do the job this year. He was placed on Reserve Injured with a toe injury.
There’s no Jalen Reagor, who had 31 punts returners last year but is now in Minnesota where he will probably be the Vikings’ punt returner.
Running back Boston Scott has some experience doing it. He fielded six punts in 2019 for Doug Pederson and had 43 yards on those six returns.
The Eagles never tried using Devon Allen to return punts, perhaps not wanting to overload him with responsibility as he makes the transition from Olympic hurdler to NFL receiver. So, he’s not an option.
That leaves only one player, and it’s Covey unless GM Howie Roseman can find somebody on the waiver wire he feels strongly about or can make some low-level trade to bring one in.
Covey doesn’t have to be added to the 53-man roster, so no move would be required to add him to the 53-man roster.
A player can be elevated from the practice squad a maximum of three times before a decision would have to be made to add him to the roster. That’s up from a maximum of two games last year.
The Eagles may want to add him to the 53, though.
They run the risk of potentially losing him should a team decide to add him to their 53-man roster. If another team were to do that, they would need to keep him on their 53-man roster for a minimum of three games.
The good news, though, is that the Eagles can announce up to four protected practice squad players on Tuesday when they return to work.
A case could be made to add Covey to the active roster, anyway, since the Eagles have just four receivers on the 53 now.
One option to open a spot on the 53 would be to place CB Josh Jobe on Reserve/Injured.
The UDFA cornerback has missed the last few practices with an elbow injury. He would have to miss at least four games, before being eligible to return.
It may be a safer play than releasing someone from the active roster should the Eagles choose to do that with Covey or a waiver wire/trade possibility.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
