Roseman: Green-Beckham ‘Not A Locker Room Cancer’

Howie Roseman. (Jeff Fusco)

While thinking through whether the Eagles should trade Dennis Kelly for Dorial Green-Beckham, Howie Roseman and the personnel department researched the wide receiver’s background, which features a few missteps and arrests.

Green-Beckham was dismissed from the University of Missouri football team in 2014 for allegedly pushing a female down some stairs, after he was arrested twice in marijuana-related incidents. More recently, his work ethic has been questioned on the field in Tennessee, and he tumbled down the depth chart to the point where some thought he wouldn’t make the team.

So what did people say during the course of Roseman’s research?

“Obviously, he’s made mistakes, but he’s a good-hearted kid. That he has the right intentions, and that if you get a chance to really spend some time with him, you’ll see that. He’s not a locker room cancer at all,” Roseman said. “He’s got a rare skill set. Now, there’s a reason that he’s available at this time. He’s got to get more consistent, like we’re talking about, but for us and where we are in development, we thought it was a risk worth taking.

“Because of where we are from a pick standpoint going forward, we’re going to have to take some chances to make sure that we increase the talent level.”

Green-Beckham’s talent is not — and never really has been — in question. As a rookie last season, the 2015 second-round pick led first-year players in yards per reception (17.2), while ranking sixth among all NFL receivers.

According to Titans General Manager Jon Robinson, the Eagles came to them to inquire about Green-Beckham. While Roseman has never met Green-Beckham, Doug Pederson has, in addition to multiple people in the Eagles’ personnel department. Roseman also cited Brian Dawkins, whom the Eagles hired today to be a Football Operations Executive, as someone who may help Green-Beckham.

“Obviously, it’s an organizational decision here, and it’s on all of us. It’s on all of us to rally around these guys and give them the support system. On a different note today, we’ve hired Brian Dawkins full time to help in this regard,” Roseman said. “His week here [as an intern], we saw the contributions he can make to our football team. We’re not putting it on Brian, either, it’s on all of us, but we feel like we’re going to get a structure in place that we’re going to give these guys the best chance to succeed.”

According to Pederson, Green-Beckham will arrive in Philadelphia today and travel to Pittsburgh tomorrow, but he will not play in the Eagles’ second preseason game against the Steelers on Thursday. Pederson also noted he’s confident he can handle players with potential off-the-field problems.

“I kind of take a chip off of Andy Reid’s block. We had a Michael Vick, who had situations there,” Pederson said. “Now listen, I’m going to preface this by saying we’re not in the rehabilitation business. But at the same time, we feel like with the staff that I’ve assembled on offense, with the personnel staff upstairs, we can bring guys in that might have had a little bit of a history. And we can help these players not only become young men, but become good football players.”

Lane Johnson And the Unclear Timeline

What both Pederson and Roseman wouldn’t discuss, however, is Lane Johnson’s recent remarks. Johnson told NJ.com that he notified the Eagles about his potential 10-game suspension around July 30, but Pederson said he found out about Johnson’s suspension last Wednesday. Pederson and Roseman declined comment today when asked about the timeline of events.