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Naturally, ESPN’s anonymously sourced report criticizing the Philadelphia Eagles and Carson Wentz was a big topic at the NovaCare Complex on Friday.
Doug Pederson pretty much laughed the comments off during his press conference. Meanwhile, in the locker room, two potential suspects — Nelson Agholor and Alshon Jeffery — denied their involvement in the story.
Nelson Agholor says he wasn’t the anonymous source either:
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) October 18, 2019
“I will tell you, on record, that’s not something I mess with. That’s one thing that needs to be known. I don’t mess with nothing like that. That’s not how I do business. That’s out of my character” #Eagles
Asked Alshon Jeffery 3 times if he was behind anonymous quotes to ESPN, based on speculation. His responses:
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) October 18, 2019
1. "There's a lot of people who know a lot of people ... just like know you."
2. "It sounds like a story is being written. We're focused on the Cowboys."
3. "Nah."#Eagles
Alshon Jeffery said it wasn’t him behind the anonymous quotes to Josina Anderson.
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) October 18, 2019
“When things are going well, you all are going to write something great about us. We 3-3. We right where we need to be. Everything is right in front of us.” #Eagles
Agholor has been suspected due to how he’s not having a great season in an important contract year. One could imagine how he might be frustrated.
Jeffery has drawn suspicion due to his apparent relationship with the ESPN reporter who broke this most recent story, Josina Anderson. Anderson has previously broken a lot of news about Jeffery in the past.
https://t.co/mAwiEW8jkW pic.twitter.com/aDCEuT9FdH
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) October 17, 2019
Now, would any player actually admit that they were the source for ESPN’s reporting? Probably not! Kinda defeats the purpose of putting criticism out there anonymously.
Still, it’s worth noting that Agholor and Jeffery denied any involvement. Their voices have been heard and now whether you choose to believe or not them is up to you.
Assuming they’re being truthful, Agholor and Jeffery have been put in an unfortunate situation by the leaker. It’s unfair for them to be receiving criticism for something they didn’t do.
It’ll be pretty interesting to see how the team responds this weekend. Do they ignore the distraction and rally behind Wentz in a big effort to beat the Cowboys? Or do they lose and do we perhaps see more dysfunction emerge?
Winning typically cures all so my recommendation to the Eagles would be that they should try doing that.