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The Jacksonville Jaguars are cleaning house. They traded Yannick Ngakoue to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday and now they’ve waived Leonard Fournette, the No. 4 overall pick from the 2017 NFL Draft.
Naturally, whenever a recognizable name becomes available, it’s only fair to ask if it makes sense for the Philadelphia Eagles to go after that player. So, should the Birds be pursuing Fournette assuming his $4.2 million salary clears waivers?
The Eagles were reportedly looking at a trio of veteran free agent running backs — Carlos Hyde, LeSean McCoy, and Devonta Freeman — earlier this offseason. Hyde and McCoy have since been signed while Freeman’s asking price figures to be higher than what Philly (or any team) is willing to pay.
By not signing a veteran, the Eagles were able to give more training camp practice reps to their young backfield options. Elijah Holyfield has arguably done enough to earn a fourth running back spot behind the main trio of Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, and Corey Clement. Undrafted rookie free agent Adrian Killins is potentially on the roster bubble while Michael Warren had a quieter summer.
Methinks the Eagles will and probably should just stick with what they have. The 25-year-old Fournette is hardly washed up after just three seasons in the league but I’d guess he’s seeking more money and a bigger role than the Eagles will realistically offer. It’s nice to think of Fournette as a Jordan Howard replacement but I just don’t think we’ll see that happen.
If Sanders goes down for an extended period of time (God forbid) and Fournette is still available, then that’s something worth considering. For now, though, I expect the Eagles to pass. Another team out there will go harder after him than they will.