Rumors swirled last week when the Chiefs cut former Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. The Birds were shown to have interest in the receiver, despite having a deep and loaded slew of wide receivers already on the roster.
The Eagles, of course, didn’t sign Maclin — he instead inked a pact with the Ravens — but that didn’t take the topic of Maclin off the table when reporters chatted with players after minicap mractice Tuesday.
Torrey Smith had a similar experience to that of Maclin, getting cut by the 49ers. He signed with a new team in the Eagles, a team that has heated competition among its wide receivers.
“Theres a lot of competiton this time of year,” Smith said. “There are 12 or 15 receivers this time of year, there’s a lot of competition, we have a lot of talent and obviously everyone can’t make it.”
Looking at the numbers, it seems pretty set in stone that Smith, Alshon Jeffery and Jordan Matthews will make the 53-man roster after training camp. That leaves rookies Mack Hollins and Shelton Gibson, young veterans Nelson Agholor and Dorial Green-Beckham, and dark horses like Paul Turner and Bryce Treggs all battling for what will likely be two or three more spots.
Smith has been particularly impressed by the performance of Agholor, who was a former first round pick but has struggled mightily — on and off the field — over his first two NFL seasons. He’s been the OTA and minicamp darling this far during the spring.
“Nelson has had an awesome offseason,” Smith said. “He’s been very consistent and making plays and has played some confident ball. We need that from him to be as good as we can be.”
Agholor has work to do, and Smith looks safe on paper, but anything can happen and every NFL player with experience knows this. With a two-year team-friendly deal, the pressure is on for the 28-year-old veteran to prove he can still be a potent NFL deep threat after a down season in 2016.
“I understand every year there are like six spots,” he said. “They might trade for someone. Calvin Johnsion may decide come back and they might try and sign him. You never know.”
