The Linc

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

Most confusing NFL teams, what’s next for Anthony Richardson – ESPN+
Cooper DeJean, NB, Philadelphia Eagles: It would be an overstatement to say that DeJean saved the Eagles’ defense, but it was bad before he got healthy and good after he took over the starting slot job from Avonte Maddox, so I’m going to say it anyway. DeJean has been one of the most impressive rookies I’ve seen all season, immediately showing a veteran level of feel both when matching routes behind him and closing downhill. He won more reps against Ja’Marr Chase on Sunday than I can remember a player winning in quite some time. The fit in a Vic Fangio defense that needs a safety-like nickel couldn’t be more snug. […] Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Philadelphia Eagles: Mitchell has been one of the most tested cornerbacks in the league, as opposing offenses avoid Darius Slay Jr. and elect instead to test the rookie. Mitchell has more than risen to the challenge. He is thriving right now in off-coverage with his eyes in the backfield, anticipating and jumping routes or getting connected to receivers far downfield and closing windows. And the stats would look far more favorable if Mitchell could have caught one of a few footballs that have hit him in the mitts.

These Eagles rookies continue to gain respect | ‘They’re going to be the best nickel-corner combo’ – NJ.com
“He’s playing great defense and doing great lockdown stuff,” Slay said. “Q is my boy. I love Q to death. He’s been growing up with me every day. He’s like my little brother. He’s going to be elite in this league for a long, long time. As for Coop, he’s playing amazingly at his nickel position, especially moving from the outside. I think this needs to be his permanent position, and I think he will be one of the best—and one of the highest-paid—nickels in the NFL when his time comes up because he plays that game so smart. He’s going to be the best nickel in this league. They’re going to be the best nickel-corner combo in the league for a long time. Howie put his foot in it with these two draft picks.”

The Ringer’s 2024 NFL Midseason All-Rookie Team – The Ringer
Cornerback: Quinyon Mitchell, Philadelphia Eagles; Kamari Lassiter, Houston Texans; Beanie Bishop, Pittsburgh Steelers. Philadelphia made plenty of mistakes last offseason, leaving some major holes in an already top-heavy roster, but through eight weeks of the season it’s clear that general manager Howie Roseman nailed his first few picks of the 2024 draft, particularly defensive backs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, whom the Eagles selected in the first and second rounds, respectively. Mitchell has seen a lot of action; he’s been targeted more than any rookie corner according to Next Gen Stats, but he’s handling the difficult responsibility of being in Vic Fangio’s defensive scheme well and has had multiple opportunities to force turnovers that he hasn’t quite capitalized on. You can see his quick-twitch ability and aggressive play style on tape, and as he learns more about the game from Fangio I’m optimistic that it will lead to even more production when it comes to interceptions. Lassiter meets every archetype of a physical and fearless no. 2 corner, and fits perfectly in DeMeco Ryans’s scheme opposite Derek Stingley Jr., the team’s top corner. Lassiter’s technique is still a little raw, but he’s been great at disrupting receivers at the line of scrimmage and breaking up passes when he’s targeted. If Lassiter can turn his deflections into interceptions, it changes his trajectory from a good complementary player into a great one without any qualifiers. Honorable mentions: Cooper DeJean, Philadelphia Eagles; Terrion Arnold, Detroit Lions; Nate Wiggins, Baltimore Ravens.

Rookie grades & snap reports for all 32 NFL teams ahead of Week 9 – PFF
DeJean and Mitchell have helped solidify a previously shaky Eagles secondary, realizing the dream that Howie Roseman had when taking them with his first two picks. No other Eagles rookie has played over 17 snaps.

Isaiah Rodgers wants to find a way to stay with the Eagles for his whole career – BGN
The Eagles took a risk when they signed CB Isaiah Rodgers shortly after he was suspended for the 2023 season, but so far it’s paid off. Before Rodgers was even re-instated by the league, Howie Roseman signed the CB to a one-year deal. Rodgers has talked about how much it meant to him that during a really tough time, the Eagles believed in him enough to give him a chance. As he gets closer to his first true offseason as a free agent, the young CB isn’t worried about impressing people outside of Philly. Rodgers told Zach Berman that he’s focused on finding a way to stay with the Eagles for the rest of his career.

Jalen Hurts is committed to learning from last year’s failures – PFT
Last year, things started great for the Eagles and then finished horribly. After the team’s third straight win, which moved the Eagles to 5-2 in 2024, I asked quarterback Jalen Hurts whether last year has been forgotten. “Absolutely, absolutely,” he said. “I think that’s where we are, and I think my goal is to keep it where it is. We got a lot of opportunity in front of us. We got a new team, it’s a new year and we’re trying to build a new energy for ourselves and I think we’ve done that. And I think there are time where I’m not going to be naïve and tell you that I don’t look back and say I’m going to learn from this moment and maybe I felt this feeling once before, how do I navigate this?. And so that’s where we are and that’s where I am. It’s about being wise in our decision making and ultimately stand together as a football team.” Does this mean that, while forgetting the outcome to 2023, the moments that fueled the adversity are remembered?

Spadaro: Are you serious? These numbers are simply impressive – PE.com
Bottom line? The defense is picking up on what coordinator Vic Fangio is selling and he pointed to the final possessions against Cincinnati when the defense had two takeaways and a stop on fourth down as moments to measure the improvement. “Makes a huge difference. I mean, those last three drives – not counting the last, last one – but the fourth-down stop is like a takeaway,” Fangio said. “The interception and then the quick fumble. Three series got stopped right away. “It has a huge effect on everything. Both defense’s confidence to make a play like that and field position for the offense. I believe it was just a seven-point game on the fourth-down stop, and all of a sudden we have the ball already in field goal range. So, huge plays.” And a huge step forward for the Eagles, on a three-game winning streak with Jacksonville coming to town for a late-afternoon, Hall of Fame, Kelly Green game on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

Game Review – PHI 37, CIN 17 – Iggles Blitz
The edge rushers had another good game. Nolan Smith continues to make his presence felt. He had 2 tackles, half a sack and a batted pass. Smith beat the RT by going low and flying by the RT. Smith had to cover Chase on a red zone play and gave up a TD. Give Zac Taylor credit for designing a good play and calling it at the perfect time. Josh Sweat came free up the middle on a stunt, but missed Burrow. That was torturous. Bryce Huff had a couple of tackles and played the run well. There was an early play where he took on the blocker to set the edge and the RB had to cut inside, right to the tacklers. Brandon Graham had a couple of tackles and a FF. His highlight came when he filled a gap on 3rd & 1 and blew up the run. That led to a dramatic fourth down stop. Stop me if you’ve heard this before…Zack Baun led the team in tackles (12). He is among league leaders in tackles, which is impressive for someone who is new to ILB. Baun forced a fumble late in the game. That was recovered by Nakobe Dean, who also had 9 tackles, a TFL and a QB hit. Both guys were tough against the run and blitzed effectively. Dean blew up OL on multiple rushes. It is fun to watch him play downhill.

How Jahan Dotson is staying patient without seeing targets – NBCSP
Jahan Dotson has just six catches all season. He hasn’t had a catch in either of the last two games. And on Sunday, he played the first game in his NFL career without a single target. At one point in his life, that would have really gotten to him. “A younger me, I would say 100%,” Dotson said on Wednesday. “But me now, especially with the people I have in my corner, just me always trying to mentally challenge myself to be better and better and better, I feel like I’m in a very good head space where that doesn’t bother me. A younger me, that would have bothered me. I would have been mad. But it’s bigger than me at the end of the day. I’m all about team, team, team. And whatever I can do to help this team win football games, I’m going to do. Whether that be 0 targets, whether that be 15 targets, whether that be the game-winning block, whether that be two plays. I’m going to try to do it to the best of my ability to help this team win.”

RB Index, Week 9: Three running backs with season-saving potential – NFL.com
On Sunday, the Eagles offense was held scoreless in the first quarter for the seventh straight week. Philly found some rhythm in the second quarter, but things really opened up in the second half thanks to some big plays through the air and hard running by Barkley. The veteran back, who had just 35 yards on nine totes before halftime, helped move the chains and control the clock once Philly took a sizeable lead, finishing with 108 yards on 22 carries. His best runs came on the Eagles’ second possession in the fourth quarter, earning gains of 11, 19 and 17 yards to set up a Jalen Hurts TD to put them up by three scores.

Jaguars/Eagles injury roundup: Keilan Robinson, Dewey Wingard, Tashaun Gipson nearing return? – Big Cat Country
This move makes sense with WR Parker Washington possibly spending significantly more time at WR moving forward, with Christian Kirk’s season-ending injury. With Kirk’s injury, Devin Duvernay currently on IR, & Tank Bigsby popping up on the injury report and also getting increased snaps Jacksonville may need a little depth in the return game. With Jones being signed to the Jaguars practice squad, not the active roster it is currently still up in the air if current practice squad WR Austin Trammell will get called up this week, if the team decides to elevate the recently signed Velus to man that role against Philadelphia, if they simply continue allowing Parker Washington to man those roles, or if they have something else in mind. Speaking of something else in mind, RB/KR Keilan Robinson.

Report: Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie in talks to sell minority stake in team – SBJ
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie is in talks to “sell a minority stake” in the team to the family of technology titan Susan Kim, according to sources cited by Tan & Williams of BLOOMBERG NEWS. A transaction would value the team at $8B “or more.” It was reported in June that Lurie was exploring the sale of a minority stake in the Eagles (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 10/30). In Philadelphia, Jeff Gammage wrote the gain for Lurie by selling an interest “would be the acquisition of cash.” Even a smaller investor “can spend tens or hundreds of millions of dollars to own part of a team.” That money “could go many places.” It could “help Lurie diversify his investment portfolio.” Unlike some pro sports owners who grew rich in real estate or tech and “hold a team as just one of their assets,” Lurie’s “main interest and job is running the Eagles.” It is also possible that “some or all of that multimillion-dollar infusion could be spent on the team itself” (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 10/30).

Jayden Daniels has been named FedEx Air Player of the Week for the second time this season – Hogs Haven
Jayden Daniels was named the FedEx Air Player of the Week for his game-winning performance against the Chicago Bears. The other nominees for the award were Falcons QB Kirk Cousins and Browns QB Jameis Winston.

Cowboys injury report: Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs don’t practice – Blogging The Boys
Running back Rico Dowdle, who missed the game against the 49ers after becoming ill before the game, returned to practice and was off the injury report. To begin the week, Micah Parsons still has not practiced. Parsons hasn’t practiced since sustaining an ankle injury against the New York Giants in week 5. Trevon Diggs also did not practice with a calf injury. Cornerback Caelen Carson did, however, fully practice. He’s missed multiple games with a shoulder injury and a full practice is trending in the right direction for his availability at Atlanta. Additional DNPs were Zack Martin (shoulder) and defensive tackle Linval Joseph (back).

Giants trade rumors: Does failed No. 1 overall pick to Giants make sense? – Big Blue View
The New York Giants will almost certainly be in the market for a quarterback this offseason. With days to go before the 2024 NFL trade deadline, could the Giants make a pre-emptive move at the quarterback position? ESPN’s Dan Graziano thinks that 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, who has failed to impress with the Carolina Panthers, to the Giants makes sense.