NFL: Does Antonio Brown Make Sense for the Eagles?
The Philadelphia Eagles have been off to a rocky start through Week 9, having won five out of their first nine games that have pushed them to just over the .500 mark. They have struggled to find their footing offensively, which saw them take another blow on that side of the ball, with veteran wide receiver DeSean Jackson likely seeing the remainder of his 2019 campaign come to an abrupt close after abdominal surgery. All that could foreseeably sway the team to take a chance on bringing in free agent wideout Antonio Brown.
Eagles’ bumpy start to 2019 season
Ahead of the 2019 season, there was plenty of expectations laid forth that the Eagles would bounce back and separate themselves as Super Bowl contenders.
However, the team has struggled to gather any consistent play as they have dropped two out of their last three games that have put them behind the Dallas Cowboys for the top spot in the NFC East. Their offense hasn’t been anywhere near as productive as anticipated as they have struggled to find their way.
Philadelphia is currently 21st with 219.7 passing yards while averaging 24.9 points per contest. It also hasn’t helped that their defense has its issues as their secondary has been diced up this season, giving up 23.7 points per game. There are plenty of notable problems that the Eagles are hoping to address, and the team was dealt a significant blow involving another setback involving one of their major offseason additions.
DeSean Jackson could miss the rest of the season
During this past offseason, the Eagles made the special move to bring back Jackson’s career full circle by signing him to a three-year, $27.9 million deal.
It hasn’t been anywhere near what was hoped as he has struggled with injuries through the bulk of the year. He has been limited to just three games, where he has nine catches for 159 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Jackson was expected to come in to bring another element to the offense with a legitimate deep-ball threat that there was flashes shown betwen the chemistry he had with star quarterback Carson Wentz. All that has been put on pause with his injury as he’s undergoing surgery to repair a torn abdominal muscle on Tuesday.
Head coach Doug Pederson had some intriguing comments on Monday stating that he hasn’t been completely satisfied by that group’s performance this season, according to Rueben Frank of NBC Sports.
“I think overall they’ve been good, but I would say they haven’t been great,” Pederson said. “I think they would echo that. I think yesterday, Alshon had some chances and I believe he would own up to that, to make some of the catches that he missed yesterday. He’s a professional about it, and Nelly the same way. We’ve just got to continue to work with these guys. Every week’s a new week. Every week brings new challenges.
With Jackson out of the mix for likely the rest of the season, it could send the franchise to venture out into the open market for a player like Brown.
Antonio Brown an option in Philly?
The Eagles have clear aspirations to return to the mountaintop this season by winning their second Super Bowl in the last three years.
Philadelphia clearly isn’t getting the job done offensively, which may open the door to Brown being an option. There hasn’t been any question in terms of his talent on the field, but rather everything else that comes with him being the off-the-field issues.
It was revealed that the Seattle Seahawks had kicked the tires on bringing him in before placing the waiver claim on Josh Gordon. There is some keen interest in him getting back into the league. Still, it appears that it’s all coming back to the NFL completing their investigation of his sexual misconduct allegations before things can move forward.
Although Brown can quickly step in as a significant piece to the puzzle, there won’t be any movement on this front from the Eagles or any other team until his legal situation is sorted out.
