The Philadelphia Eagles added some depth to their wide receiver room when they signed seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Julio Jones to the practice squad on Tuesday.
Last season, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the 34-year-old had 43 catches for 299 yards and two touchdowns.
With Quez Watkins on IR with a hamstring injury, the Eagles felt they needed more, and hopefully, Jones will give them just that.
On Wednesday, Eagles head Nick Sirianni discussed the reasoning behind the signing of the 12-year veteran.
“We’re a little banged up at wide receiver and just wanted to add some extra depth and another proven guy in there,” SIrianni said.
“So, Howie(Roseman) and I like we always do, watched different guys together and his name came up. We watched him together and it was pretty obvious we thought when he was at Tampa last year that the film was good. We were excited about the possibility to add him.
[WR] Quez [Watkins] is out for a little bit, as everybody knows. But I do want to take a second to say, a guy like O.Z. [WR Olamide Zaccheaus] — the toughness that he has and how reliable he is as a player, a guy like that always has a spot on offenses that I’m going to be a part of, always.
“I’ve been able to have great success with guys that have those two common denominators of toughness and reliability. And so he’s going to continue to give us that as we continue on right here.
“So, in no indication is that a knock on O.Z. It’s just where we are, a little bit banged up, and just to get a little bit more depth in there of some guys that have played good football. Obviously, Julio, he’s a Hall of Fame player, and so he’s played good football, and we still thought the tape was good. So, excited to add him to the roster.”
Jones led the NFL in both receptions (136) and receiving yards (1,871) in his first All-Pro season and led the league in receiving yards again in 2018 (1,677 yards). His 2015 yardage total stands as the third-highest in a single season in NFL history, while his 2015 receptions mark ranks tied for fourth in a single season. Jones recorded 80-plus receptions and 1,400-or-more receiving yards in each season from 2014-18, marking the longest-such streak of seasons in NFL history.
He’s not that guy anymore; however, according to Sirianni, Jones still has something left in the tank.
“You’re always looking at the explosion,” Sirianni said. “Does he still have the juice in his legs and the ability to run, ability to get out of cuts, the ability to make plays, and all those things we thought were still good…
“Again, you’re still coming out here and going to see more and more each time you see him out on the field. Obviously, he’s older from that time. But still has the ability to make plays.”
This is a low-risk, high reward type of move. With A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert, the Eagles don’t need Jones to be his old self, but if he can be anything close to that, it’s pretty much gravy.
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