Former Eagles running back Jordan Howard waived by Dolphins

We all know the Philadelphia Eagles love familiarity. To a fault, really, when you consider their over-reliance on former players.

In that vein, it’s probably worth noting that the former Eagles running back Jordan Howard might be available to Philly. The Miami Dolphins waived the 26-year-old on Monday afternoon.

There was some thought that the Eagles might re-sign Howard earlier this year after they originally traded for him in March 2019. But he instead signed a two-year, $10 million free agent contract with the Dolphins to presumably be their No. 1 back.

Howard immediately struggled to make an impact with his new team. He logged just 11 rushing yards on 13 attempts in his first two starts! It was no surprise to see him eventually phased out of the offense; he’s averaging an atrociously awful 1.2 yards per carry this year in addition to having one reception for negative three yards. Plus one fumble on just 28 carries.

Howard was a positive contributor for the Eagles in 2019 with a 4.4 average and six touchdowns on 119 rushing attempts. But he got phased out in Philly due to the combination of his injury and the emergence on Miles Sanders.

And speaking of Sanders, the Eagles should be focused on getting him more touches as opposed to bringing in another back to split them with. It’s not like the Birds are in desperate need of a No. 2 option with Boston Scott coming off some solid performances. Replacing Corey Clement with Howard would probably be fine but the latter isn’t going to be counted on to play special teams.

The Eagles are currently 19th in the 2021 NFL Draft order, which also doubles as the waiver wire claim order. They’ll have to hope 18 other teams pass on him in order to get him. Of course, it’s entirely possible that no one claims Howard’s remaining salary. They might be more interested in signing him at the minimum salary if he clears waivers and becomes a free agent. Or maybe no team will have interest in Howard given how bad he’s been.

The feeling here is the Eagles should pass on bringing him back.