Nelson Agholor Will Not Play vs. Green Bay, Per Report
Nelson Agholor. (USA Today Sports)
UPDATE: Nelson Agholor will not play, ESPN’s Adam Caplan confirmed.
As @howardeskin said, #Eagles WR Nelson Agholor will be inactive tonight. #GBvsPHI
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) November 28, 2016
Sources told @Tim_McManus and I that the Eagles plan to get a look at UDFA WR Paul Turner tonight as 4th WR.
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) November 28, 2016
https://twitter.com/caplannfl/status/803348981426352128
Original Story
The Philadelphia Eagles plan to decrease Nelson Agholor’s role during the team’s Week 12 game against the Green Bay Packers. NFL media’s Ian Rapoport reports the Eagles plan to “limit snaps” or “even deactivate” the 2015 first-round pick.
Agholor has played 84.6% of the Eagles’ offensive snaps this season. Rapoport reports the Eagles plan to replace his playing time by moving slot receiver Jordan Matthews on the outside more often with rookie undrafted free agent Paul Turner working in the slot.
Agholor’s potential benching hardly comes as a surprise. The 23-year-old receiver has struggled mightily this season after not showing much promise as a rookie last year.
Agholor’s struggles were magnified last week when failing to line up properly drew an illegal formation penalty that wiped out a would-be Zach Ertz touchdown at a crucial time in the Eagles-Seahawks game. Agholor then dropped a pass for a significant gain despite being wide open in the middle of the field. After the Eagles’ loss, Agholor admitted he’s pressing too much and he “has to get out of his own head.”
One day after Agholor’s big mistakes, the Eagles promoted Turner, a summer standout, from the practice squad to the active roster. Head coach Doug Pederson also did not rule out benching Agholor, though he didn’t openly reveal a final decision on Agholor’s playing time.
“Sometimes, sometimes — and this is just me speaking, it’s not a decision by any means — but sometimes you have to take a step back in order to go forward,” said Pederson on Monday. “Sometimes that can help clear your head. I remember as a quarterback back in 1999 when Andy [Reid] pulled me out and put Donovan [McNabb] in, it was a step back to possibly go forward and see it differently. And that way, too, you can begin to clear your head and see it where you don’t have the pressure of performing on your all the time.”
The Eagles might hope Agholor’s benching will be the best for him in the long run. Or they could simply believe he’s just not an effective player and they need to move on to other options.
One could argue that Agholor shouldn’t sit in this game because the Packers have one of the NFL’s worst pass defenses. Green Bay ranks dead last in pass yards allowed per attempt. Perhaps this could be a game that would help boost his confidence.
The inactives list for the Eagles-Packers game will be revealed at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Stay tuned for an official decision on Agholor’s game status.