Philadelphia Eagles Still Awaiting Key Reinstatement Decision

The Philadelphia Eagles begin Phase One of the offseason on Monday and would love to have a cornerback who could help them this season in the building to begin adjusting to his new surroundings.

The assumption is Isaiah Rodgers will eventually be reinstated by the NFL after he was suspended last season.

So, what’s the holdup?

The Philadelphia Eagles will begin Phase One of their offseason program on Monday, and they would like to have Rodgers there, obviously, so he can begin immersion into a new culture, new defensive system, new teammates, new everything.

The Eagles would also like to evaluate Rodgers before the NFL draft begins on April 25 and get a better idea what sort of condition he is in after missing a full season.

Rodgers is a cornerback who is expected to compete in the slot, or, if James Bradberry is eventually released, perhaps start on the outside. He may even be used as a kickoff and/or punt returner where he can put to good use the 4.28 speed he showed in the 40-yard dash during his pro day at the University of Massachusetts in 2020.

He was a sixth-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts that year. He has played in 45 games with 10 starts in his first three seasons.

Jan 9, 2022; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Indianapolis Colts cornerback Isaiah Rodgers (34) reacts

Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports

Reinstatement could happen on Monday, but as of now, Rodgers remains on the Eagles’ reserve/suspended list.

They added him in August after the Colts waived him on June 29, the same day the NFL announced that Rodgers would be suspended until after the Super Bowl when he would be eligible to reapply for reinstatement by the league.

At the time of his suspension, ESPN reported that he had placed more than 100 bets including on Colts games - and most were in the $25 to $50 range.

Bets were even placed on games played by his team, the Colts. ESPN reported one that stood out was a $1,000 prop bet on the over-under on rushing yards by Indy running back Jonathan Taylor. Rodgers won that bet.

"That report is true, with it being $1,000, but that report wasn't made from my device," Rodgers told ESPN in a Feb. 1 interview, his first since the suspension.

"The $25 to $50 bets are exactly true, but it was more crazy-leg parlays with just $25 trying to make a crazy amount. Just funny bets. Nothing too serious. It was never, 'This bet here is going to change my life.'"

Betting on his team could be an issue. It’s a big reason Pete Rose was banished from baseball and never permitted into the Hall of Fame because he bet on games he managed for the Cincinnati Reds.

Rodgers, who turned 26 in January, said the bets were made for members of his family and done from his online sports gambling site.

"Just trying to help friends and family out, just knowing that it wasn't legal at the time in Florida and it was in Indiana," Rodgers told ESPN.

ESPN asked Rodgers why he would jeopardize the $850,000 salary he was set to earn during the 2023-24 season.

"I questioned myself, too," he said. "But I thought I probably wouldn't get caught, wouldn't get in trouble…At the end of the day, I knew the rules, I wasn't supposed to do it and I got to take what comes with it.”