PHILADELPHIA >> Doug Pederson opened his day-after news conference with a statement that had everything to do with embattled wide receiver Nelson Agholor.
The Eagles signed wide receiver Paul Turner, the training camp darling, to the 53-man roster. Turner had been working on the practice squad.
The Birds released defensive back Aaron Grymes, not Agholor, who stunk up CenturyLink Field Sunday in a 25-16 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
However the other shoe almost certainly will fall on Agholor later this week after he speaks with Pederson. Agholor basically said he felt overwhelmed by football in remarks after the game in which he caught one pass in 71 snaps, counting the two-point play he converted, and committed an illegal formation penalty wiping out what would have been a Zach Ertz touchdown giving the Eagles the lead.
“I will definitely have a conversation with Nelson and I’ll address that as we get later in the week,” Pederson said. “Those are definitely concerns that I have, now that he’s come out and said that publicly. My concern is for him as an individual, as a person. I want to make sure he’s in a good spot. Hey, listen, put football aside, we all know about that. I want to make sure as a person he’s doing good. So we’ll have that conversation.”
The Eagles (5-5) don’t play again until next Monday when they entertain the desperate Green Bay Packers (4-6), who have lost four straight games.
Though Pederson wants to take his time making a decision at wide receiver, the Birds having additional days to get over their fifth straight road loss, it’s fairly obvious that Agholor will be benched.
Agholor is fourth on the Eagles with 27 receptions and 264 receiving yards. It’s been almost all downhill for the 2015 first-round pick out of USC after he caught a 35-yard scoring pass to help beat the Cleveland Browns in the opener.
Turner (5-10, 193) is an undrafted rookie out of Louisiana Tech who developed chemistry with Carson Wentz in their short time together in the preseason.
“We gave him some work last week in practice,” Pederson said. “We just feel this is a good opportunity right now, not only for us but for him to see where he’s at, see what he can do, and give him an opportunity.”
The Eagles’ injury report is extensive.
Pederson said running back Ryan Mathews is day to day with a right knee issue.
Running back Darren Sproles fractured his seventh rib. It’s similar to the injury tight end Brent Celek is playing with, but is in a safer area according to Pederson. Sproles won’t practice this week but should be OK for the Packers.
Pederson is confident that rookie Wendell Smallwood can fill the potential void at running back along with Kenjon Barner.
Cornerback Leo McKelvin is in the concussion protocol.
Offensive tackle Hal Vaitai has a week-to-week Grade 2 MCL sprain.
Pederson plans to move left guard Allen Barbre to right tackle, and use Stefen Wisniewski and Isaac Seumalo at left guard. Wisniewski likely will get the start at guard, although Seumalo will play. That was basically the original plan to replace Lane Johnson, who recently served the fifth game of his 10-game suspension for using perfomance enhancing drugs.
Defensive end Connor Barwin has a bone bruise, which will necessitate keeping him out of practices but not the next game.
Also safety Malcolm Jenkins reported knee bursitis Monday.
The Eagles get safety Terrence Brooks (hamstring) back this week.