During his Wednesday press conference, Eagles’ head coach Doug Pederson was quick to shoot down the recent reports that the team had been looking into acquiring some veteran help at the wide receiver position.
Doug on reports of Eagles trying to trade for receiver: “There’s no legitimacy to that. Im happy with the guys we have here.” #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/bEJpCossiE
— John Clark CSN (@JClarkCSN) October 26, 2016
There’s a couple of things worth noting here.
Doug Pederson hasn’t exactly been privy to everything that has gone on in the front office during his first season with the team.
During training camp, Pederson was unaware that Lane Johnson was facing a potential 10-game suspension, though Johnson had told the front office about his situation weeks before the knowledge became public. Pederson didn’t adjust his practices to prepare for Johnson’s suspension (inserting Alan Barbre at right tackle, Stefen Wisniewski at left guard) until after the news broke. So it’s very possible that certain things haven’t been communicated to him.
Pederson is focusing on coaching the team, and preparing them for the Dallas Cowboys. It’s Howie Roseman’s job to do his due diligence, and have conversations with other teams. And of course Howie has at least had conversations with other teams about the availability of their wide receivers. The team may have not gotten any further in negotiations than inquiries, but you can rest assured that those have at least taken place.
The other possibility here is that Pederson is simply offering up coachspeak. Realistically it’d be tough for the Eagles to make a deal for a proven veteran, and until a deal materializes, Pederson needs to manage the guys that he’s got to work with, and this is just an opportunity for him to offer them some public support.
Third, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the end of the 2003 season when I heard Pederson state that he was “happy with his wide receivers”.
After the 2003 loss in the NFC Championship Game to the Carolina Panthers, a game in which James Thrash and Todd Pinkston were abused badly, Andy Reid famously stated after the game that he was “happy with his wide receivers”. And following that endorsement, the Eagles went out and acquired Terrell Owens.
This isn’t to say that I believe the Eagles are going to make a deal for a veteran wideout, because frankly I don’t, if for no other reason because Torrey Smith and Alshon Jeffrey aren’t worth the kind of contracts and cap hits that they’ll bring to the team’s payroll. But moreso my point here is that there are all kinds of reasons to take Pederson’s dismissal of a trade possibility with a grain of salt.
