Eagles Release Former Patriots TE After 6 Days
The Philadelphia Eagles had a busy day on Tuesday, to say the least.
The big story of the day was the triumphant return of two-time Super Bowl champion Brandon Graham out of retirement. The Eagles' pass rush has been thin, and the longtime Philadelphia star is coming out of retirement to try to help and be the solution.
Graham nabbed most of the headlines of the day, but that wasn't the only story out there. For example, the Eagles quietly cut ties with tight end Jaheim Bell by releasing him from the practice squad, as shared by the team.
"The Eagles released tight end Jaheim Bell from the practice squad," Eagles team reporter Matt Ryan said. "Bell, a 2024 seventh-round pick by the Patriots out of Florida State, signed with the Eagles last Wednesday. The 6-foot-2 Bell appeared in 15 games last season for New England, catching two passes for 20 yards. He was waived by the Patriots in August.
The Eagles made a practice squad move
"The Eagles' tight ends are now Dallas Goedert, Grant Calcattera, Kylen Granson, Cameron Latu, and E.J. Jenkins, who is on the practice squad but made his season debut last week. Philadelphia now has an open spot on its practice squad."
Bell was a seventh-round pick by the New England Patriots in the 2024 National Football League Draft and played in 15 games last year. He finished the season with two catches for 20 yards while seeing most of his playing time on special teams.
The 24-year-old was released by the Patriots back in August. He signed with the Eagles on October 15th to the practice squad and was released on October 21st. That's just the nature of the practice squad. Players come and go quickly. We've seen plenty of guys already this season sign with the Eagles' practice squad, get released, and come back. Maybe that will happen with Bell.
Tight end is an intriguing position for the Eagles. Dallas Goedert is the clear-cut No. 1 option for the team, but there doesn't seem to be a long-term plan in place currently. Goedert re-worked his deal to return to Philadelphia this season, but will be a free agent after the season.
Cam Ward Under Fire: Titans Coach Calls Out Costly Mistakes
The Tennessee Titans weekly press conferences, following what have almost entirely been weekly losses, have taken on a new form in the aftermath of the team firing second-year head coach Brian Callahan.
Now helmed by interim head coach Mike McCoy, the Titans’ former senior offensive assistant, Tennessee fans are working to remain hopeful after the team’s 31-13 home loss to the New England Patriots this past week in his debut at the position.
It didn’t help that the Patriots, now 5-2 and among the hottest teams in the NFL, were led on the opposite sideline by former Titans HC Mike Vrabel. Dramatic irony at its most painful for the Tennessee faithful.
Rookie Signal Caller Woes
Among much to discuss about the team’s disappointing performance in front of their home crowd, McCoy honed in on rookie quarterback Cam Ward, offering a portion of tough love in reference to the rookie quarterback’s recent struggles to take care of the ball.
Speaking to the media the day after his first loss, McCoy said of Ward's ball security, "it's something you're always going to stress...That's something he has to clean up."
"Because we can't hurt the football team that way."
After starting the season without a turnover and continuing to take care of the ball to a relatively consistent extent through the first month of the season, Ward has gone in the opposite direction in both his scoring and ball security statistics.
According to his passing touchdown/interception ratio alone, the first-year pocket presence has managed just four scores through the air in seven games to a discouraging five interceptions. To boot, Ward has now also lost the ball to a fumble in back-to-back contests.
While it's a blunt way to treat a rookie, Coach McCoy is correct that, if the Titans want to win, their quarterback will have to find better ways to take care of the football.
Extra Curricular Factors
Then again, while Ward certainly must shoulder the blame for his continued mistakes, his offensive line has done him no favors. In the last two games alone, both losses, the Titans' protective unit has allowed an egregious 11 sacks to opposing defenses. That statistic alone is dire, and it doesn't even represent the pressures, hits and other such similar factors that come with that.
If McCoy and the Titans franchise want Ward to improve, they'll have to do more than ask him to. The team can start with investing in a worthwhile offensive line and, from there, give the rookie time to settle into his uniquely demanding role.
Ward and company will look to turn things around against the scorching hot 6-1 Indianapolis Colts on the road this weekend, a team that already bested Tennessee at home in the early part of this season. At this point, any semblance of improvement from Ward, and really the Titans as a whole, would be taken as its own sort of win.
