Eagles Will Cut Jay Ajayi After Jordan Howard Cleared

PHILADELPHIA – It was last Friday afternoon, and Eagles reporters were beginning to line up outside the NovaCare Complex waiting to get into the team’s locker room to glean some final bits of information leading up to Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Running back Jay Ajayi walked out the door and was greeted after a few steps by offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland.

The two stood close, with Stoutland doing much of the talking in a low voice for a couple of minutes. When they parted, Stoutland gave him a tap on the upper arm and Ajayi walked on, between the gathering rows of reporters.

Some observers speculated that the conversation looked a lot like a coach saying good-bye to a player who helped the Eagles win a Super Bowl in 2017 but, two years and an ACL surgery later, didn’t look like he had much game left.

On Monday, it looks very much like that may have been the case with a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the Eagles are releasing Ajayi because Jordan Howard will be returning to the lineup.

Eagles are releasing RB Jay Ajayi today, per source. They are getting RB Jordan Howard back this week.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 23, 2019

There has been no confirmation of such from the Eagles.

It was evident to anyone who saw Ajayi play the handful of snaps he did upon being re-signed on Nov. 15 that there wasn’t much remaining in his legs. Perhaps that is product of returning too soon from the surgery and he will return stronger to another team for summer training camp. Or maybe Ajayi’s career, at 26, is over.

Ajayi hadn’t taken a snap in the past two games and had just 23 since returning. In those 23 snaps, Ajayi had just 10 carries for 30 yards.

The return of Howard will give a boost to an offense that has shown more consistency during a three-game wining streak that has put the Eagles on the brink of second NFC East title in three years.

Howard and Sanders were developing into a formidable one-two punch prior to Howard suffering a shoulder injury in a Nov. 3 win over the Chicago Bears.

With Howard not playing since then, Sanders has emerged as the Eagles’ workhorse and into serious conversation for Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Sanders’ expanded role likely won’t change, but getting Howard back allows Eagles head coach Doug Pederson and his staff to open more of the playbook.

His return will give the New York Giants defense one more weapon to prepare for on Sunday.

Remember Sanders’ electric 65-yard touchdown run against the Buffalo Bills? Well then you also remember that it was Howard who spring the run with a wipeout block of a Bills’ linebacker.

Howard was the Eagles’ leading rusher when he went down with 525 yards. Sanders has zoomed by that and sits at 766 rushing yards. Despite missing the last six games, however, Howard remains the team’s leader in touchdowns with seven, six on the ground and one through the air.

The Eagles will now have three running backs, which includes Boston Scott, and allow Pederson to utilize all three the way he did in the 2017 Super Bowl-winning season with LeGarrette Blount, Corey Clement and Ajayi.

Howard’s return not only helps in that regard but should provide a psychological boost for a team that has been hit hard by injury at key positions.