Eagles Adding Reinforcements at CB After Jaire Alexander’s Retirement
Jaire Alexander’s abrupt retirement, announced just over a week after his arrival in Philadelphia, came as a bit of a surprise.
The Eagles had hoped Alexander would be a solid midseason acquisition, but that plan pretty much ended before it began. Alexander never played a snap, and he was subsequently placed on the team’s reserved/retired list.
The Eagles will be getting some reinforcements at corner soon, though, as they’ve activated Jakorian Bennett from injured reserve. Bennett has been sidelined since September with a pectoral injury, and his return should give Philadelphia more options in the secondary.
Acquired from Las Vegas in an August trade, Bennett played only three games before his injury. It’ll be interesting to see what type of role he has now that he’s returning to action.
A Look at the Philadelphia Eagles Depth at CB Now That Jakorian Bennett Has Been Activated From IR
GettyJakorian Bennett has been activated from IR by the Philadelphia Eagles. It comes at a good time, shortly after Jaire Alexander’s surprise retirement.
With Quinyon Mitchell established as the team’s top outside corner, the opposite side has been more fluid. Adoree’ Jackson has started four games on the outside, and Kelee Ringo has rotated in at times, as well. Their usage has varied week to week, often depending on how defensive coordinator Vic Fangio decides to use them.
Cooper DeJean has added an unquestioned layer of versatility to the group. When the Eagles begin in base, he has frequently slid outside.
Now, Bennett reenters the competition as the fourth outside option. The depth chart rounds out with Mac McWilliams, who has carved out a nice niche on special teams, and veteran Michael Carter II, who can also play nickel.
“I thought Adoree’ [Jackson] played really well. I think that we were able to watch practice this week — thought Michael Carter did an excellent job this week, starting to get confidence and build confidence in him,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said on November 12 (h/t Bleeding Green Nation).
“Was really excited about Jakorian before he got injured, really happy to have him back, and then Kelee [Ringo has] given us really good reps. And obviously, you have Q [Quinyon Mitchell] and Coop [Cooper DeJean] back there as well. So, feel really good about the depth at that [position].”
Before his injury, Bennett played only 24 defensive snaps for Philly. If he can play with a little more consistency, his role could grow over the second half of the season.
Eagles Coming Off Huge Win Over Packer, Face Surging Detroit Lions Team Next
The Eagles are fresh from a dominant defensive performance in their 10-7 Monday Night win over the Green Bay Packers.
Through nine games, the Eagles are 7–2, and are allowing 21.3 points per game on defense. Opponents have averaged fewer than 190 passing yards per game against the unit since late October, and their pass rush with new addition Jaelan Phillips has gotten some new life.
Next up, they’ll face another strong team from the NFC North in the 6-3 Detroit Lions, who are currently ranked second in the NFL in points scored (31.4) and sixth in total offense (372.4 yards per game). It’ll be another huge test for Fangio’s defense, and if they can eke out another win, it’ll put Philly in the drivers seat in the NFC.
Commanders' QB reveals how the defensive shakeup is affecting offense
MADRID – Things are going to be different for the Washington Commanders this week. Will they be more successful? Well, we’ll have to wait and see.
For starters, the head coach is also now calling the defense after Dan Quinn relieved Joe Whitt Jr. of those duties following the team’s fifth-straight loss in Week 10.
“It's more in the preparation phase,” where the changes have occurred, Quinn said ahead of Washington facing off against the Miami Dolphins in Week 11. “I'm always involved with the defense, but team meetings and special teams, and those are staying the same, but just in and out of the practices, and it's been a big collaboration so far,” he continued.
A New Voice on Defense
Clearly, there are changes happening and still to come to the defense, but with the head coach taking more onto his plate, how much of an impact will it have on the offensive side of things?
'Not at All, Honestly'
“Not at all, honestly,” quarterback Marcus Mariota said about that topic. “And that's a credit to him because I think as a head coach now that you're taking some of those play calling duties over, you would think kind of firsthand that maybe he would, things would be a little different, but it's been very much the same and it's a credit to Dan and the defensive staff to allow that to happen and for us as an offense, it’s been status quo and continue to work and build and I think we're excited to get things going and practice.”
Really, Mariota’s words speak support to Quinn’s assertions that the team’s culture isn’t the problem and that it is very much still intact. And it lends a larger ability to perhaps even see significant changes in the defense because of it, though we’d caution against any hyperbolic thoughts with just under one week to really impact things in Quinn’s newly added role.
A Player-Approved Spark
We’ve seen several occasions in the past where coaching changes spark increased performances from NFL rosters, even if just for a short period, and that seems to be part of Quinn’s motivation, stating earlier this week that he’s hoping to drum up some more energy and create momentum where none currently exists.
Meanwhile, his offense that scored 22 points with his attention evenly split on game day the last time out, will likely need to exceed at least 25 to have a fighting chance at getting the team’s first win in six tries in Week 11.
