Corey Clement

Eagles To Re-Sign RB Corey Clement

After not drafting a running back and seeing Jordan Howard defect to the Dolphins last month, the Eagles are bringing back a familiar face. They are re-signing Corey Clement, per Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’s a one-year deal.

The Eagles did not extend Clement an RFA tender in March but have agreed to terms to keep him in the fold. Clement has spent all three of his NFL seasons with the Eagles, arriving in Philadelphia as a 2017 UDFA and making some notable contributions in Super Bowl LII.

Clement went down with a shoulder injury last season, leading the Eagles to place him on IR. He ended the 2018 season on IR as well. While Clement caught a touchdown pass in Super Bowl LII and took the snap that ended up being the Eagles’ “Philly Special” play, he should not be considered a lock to make the 2020 team. He did not log a carry in four games last season.

However, the Eagles saw Howard leave in free agency and Darren Sproles retire. Philly has Clement, Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, Elijah Holyfield and two UDFA rookies in its running back group presently.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/16/20

Monday’s restricted free agent and exclusive rights free agent tender decisions will be posted below. Deals will be updated throughout the day.

RFAs

Tendered at original-round level:

Non-tendered:

ERFAs

Tendered:

Non-tendered:

  • Chiefs: TE David Wells

Eagles Place Corey Clement On IR

Corey Clement will head to IR for a second straight season. The Eagles will place the third-year running back on their IR list because of a shoulder injury, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.

They will promote running back Boston Scott from the practice squad to take Clement’s roster spot. Scott, Jordan Howard, Miles Sanders and Darren Sproles represent Philadelphia’s healthy running backs. Clement will be out for at least eight weeks and runs the risk of missing the rest of the season, depending on the injury’s severity and the Eagles’ IR situation.

Clement has not factored into Philadelphia’s backfield much this season, with the Eagles using him on just three offensive snaps. New additions Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders have shouldered the ball-carrying responsibilities and will continue to do so in Week 6.

Best known for his Super Bowl LI contributions — the Philly Special pitch and a nifty touchdown reception — Clement has logged 84 and 90 regular-season touches in his first two years, respectively. He has served as an Eagles auxiliary back, doing so last season for a team that struggled to keep backs healthy. A knee injury sent Clement to IR in December of last season. Sanders and Howard have given Philly more stability this season.

Eagles Place RB Corey Clement On IR

It’s official now. The Eagles have placed running back Corey Clement on injured reserve, according to a team announcement, and defensive end Josh Sweat has also been shut down for the year. To take their places, the Eagles added running back Boston Scott from the Saints’ practice squad and signed defensive end Daeshon Hall.

Clement picked up the slack for Philly in the absence of Jay Ajayi and Darren Sproles. Sproles recently returned to action, but the Eagles lost Ajayi for the year thanks to a torn ACL, and they’re still looking for an adequate punch in the backfield. The loss of Clement won’t help matters, but they’ll try to get by with Sproles, Josh Adams, Wendell Smallwood, and Scott for the rest of the season.

Sweat, a fourth-round pick in the 2018 draft, flashed serious potential with a 4.53 second 40-yard-dash time at the combine. This year, he was largely buried behind a deep group of defensive linemen, but the Eagles still have high hopes for him going forward.

The Eagles – sans Clement and Sweat – will face the Rams on Sunday night. It’s a tough matchup for sure, but the defending champs may be emboldened by L.A.’s weak performance against the Bears in Week 14.

Eagles RB Corey Clement To Miss Time

Eagles running back Corey Clement is expected to miss time with a knee injury, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. That would help to explain Monday’s signing of Boston Scott, who was previously on the Saints’ practice squad. 

Injuries have hit the Eagles hard this year, particularly at the running back position – standout Jay Ajayi was lost to an ACL tear in October and veteran Darren Sproles missed Weeks 2-12 with a hamstring injury. In their stead, Clement took on a bigger role in the backfield and ran for 259 yards off of 68 carries, resulting in a so-so 3.8 yards per carry average.

It’s unclear whether an IR trip is in Clement’s future. For however long he’s out, the Eagles’ RB depth chart will consist of Darren SprolesJosh AdamsWendell Smallwood, and Scott.

The NFC East ship has pretty much sailed, but the defending champs presently have an 18% chance of making the playoffs, according to FiveThirtyEight.com. A win against the Rams on Sunday night would go a long way towards improving their Wild Card odds, but they’ll be behind the 8-ball if they lose.

Injury Notes: Titans, Mariota, Falcons, McKinley, Colts, Doyle, Eagles, Ajayi

Marcus Mariota‘s injury remains a mystery. It hasn’t been disclosed exactly what he’s dealing with although it has reportedly caused him to lose some feeling in his hand. Blaine Gabbert started, and won, for the Titans last week, and it’s possible he’s asked to do so again this week against the Jaguars.

Titans coach Mike Vrabel told reporters that he would make the decision between Gabbert and Mariota within the next “24 hours” and that he would let them know then according to Jim Wyatt of the Titans’ official website (Twitter link). If Mariota can’t go it would be a huge blow for Tennessee against the league’s top defense. One thing that could make their matchup a bit easier is that Jalen Ramsey was added to the injury report Friday with an ankle injury, although it’s unclear if he’s in any danger of missing the game.

Here’s more injury updates from around the league:

  • The Falcons just can’t seem to catch a break. It was already known they’d be without Devonta Freeman and several other starters, but it was announced today that they’d also be without talented pass-rusher Takkarist McKinley. McKinley is currently dealing with a groin injury.
  • The Colts will be quite shorthanded for their trip to Philadelphia as the team ruled out tight end Jack Doyle, running back Marlon Mack, defensive tackle Denico Autry, and right tackle Anthony Castonzo. Doyle’s injury is a big blow, as he formed an effective tight end duo with Eric Ebron through the first two games.
  • The Eagles will also be significantly shorthanded on offense, with their backfield being particularly banged up. Running backs Jay Ajayi and Darren Sproles have been ruled out, while Corey Clement is questionable. If Clement isn’t able to go, the running back situation would be dire. Alshon Jeffery is questionable, but reporters have written that he’s very unlikely to play.

East Rumors: Brady, Eagles, Hackenberg

Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com says Tom Brady will have to address his wife’s recent comments about his alleged concussions at some point soon. It appears that, if Brady has suffered concussions, he never told the Patriots, so the club will not face discipline for failing to note his concussions on injury reports. Interestingly, Brady’s agent, Don Yee, recently said that Brady “was not diagnosed” with a concussion last year, which is quite different than saying he did not actually suffer one.

Ben Volin of the Boston Globe makes the common sense point that Brady has of course suffered a few concussions over the course of his 17-year career, and that he, like many before him, has simply done whatever he can to conceal them from his team, both out of a sense of pride and out of a desire to not miss any time.

Now for more from the league’s east divisions:

  • Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com looks at the Eagles‘ 2018 salary cap situation, and while the team is currently projected to have limited cap room again, there are plenty of options to free up some space. For instance, the club is likely to release Jason Peters, and may even consider releasing Brandon Graham if Derek Barnett and Vinny Curry do well in 2017.
  • The Eagles‘ recent signing of LeGarrette Blount will likely force UDFA Corey Clement, who had a real chance of cracking the 53-man roster as the club’s resident big-body back, to the taxi squad, as Dave Zangaro of CSNPhilly.com writes. Zangaro predicts the club will carry four backs on their roster heading into 2017, including Blount, Wendell Smallwood, Darren Sproles, and Donnel Pumphrey. We learned yesterday that Philadelphia was interested in drafting both Christian McCaffrey and Dalvin Cook, but that the price to move up in Rounds 1-2 to be in range to select them was too steep.
  • The Jets‘ QB competition will be the story to watch at the team’s OTAs over the next several weeks, though Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, like most other writers, believes it would be a surprise if Josh McCown is not the team’s Week 1 starter. Head coach Todd Bowles wants to identify a presumptive starter before training camp in order to give that player the majority of first-team reps in camp, and McCown is likely to prevail over the untested youngsters Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg, Cimini is especially bearish on Hackenberg, who does not fit OC John Morton‘s West Coast offense.
  • James Kratch of NJ.com looks at some of the Giants‘ high-profile players who are entering their contract years and what their long-term outlook with the club looks like. Kratch says an extension for Justin Pugh will not happen, and that Big Blue is either going to have to pony up big bucks for a multi-year deal next offseason or else slap Pugh with the franchise tag. Kratch believes an extension is slightly more likely for Weston Richburg, but that it is still a remote possibility, and if Richburg returns to form in 2017, he could set himself up for an Alex Mack-level payday.

Eagles Sign 10 UDFAs

The Eagles have announced the signings of 10 undrafted free agents, including a pair of previously reported players in former Wisconsin running back Corey Clement and ex-Oklahoma defensive tackle Charles Walker. Here are the other eight:

Eagles Sign Wisconsin RB Corey Clement

Corey Clement‘s red flags left him undrafted last week, but the Eagles apparently believe they can get him on the right track. The Wisconsin running back has signed with Philly as a UDFA and will receive a $35K package, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter). Clement gets $10K in the form of a bonus plus a $25K guaranteed base. Corey Clement (vertical)

In 2015, Clement was ticketed to take over for Melvin Gordon as Wisconsin’s starting running back. Instead, he was shut down by a hernia injury. Later, he injured his hand in a fight and was not initially forthcoming about it with university officials. Last year, however, he turned in a solid season, rushing for 1,375 yards off of 314 carries with 15 touchdowns. Before the draft, Lance Zierlein of NFL.com‘s scouting report praised him for his lightning quick jump cut and impressive conditioning.

According to Pelissero, the Eagles also gave significant deals to Richmond defensive lineman Winston Craig ($20K), Shepherd wide receiver Billy Brown ($17.5K), and Shepherd safety Tre’Vaughn Sullivan ($15K).