Welcome to The Linc, the daily Philadelphia Eagles links roundup at Bleeding Green Nation!
Speaking on Monday, Nick Sirianni said the Eagles aren’t going to make any changes. But just because he said that publicly doesn’t mean things could be happening behind the scenes. Something’s gotta give with the team losing six straight and not showing signs of getting better. The Eagles’ offensive line looks like they don’t know what they’re doing.
Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles news and links …
Short
Term Stuff – Iggles Blitz
It really is hard to judge Sean Mannion accurately. He’s had to deal with an insane amount of injuries. The players all speak highly of him. There haven’t been guys ripping him to the media on the record and we aren’t hearing complaints from anonymous sources. At the same time, the offense is historically bad. They can’t be ignored. I would leave Mannion in place for now. The bye week is coming up soon. That will give them a chance to really focus on self-scouting and try to find some fixes. Chris Kuper has also been dealt a tough hand. He thought he was getting 4/5ths of the OL that led the team to a SB win in 2024. Oops. Two of them are no longer with the team. He has already had multiple starters at LG, C, and RG. Jeff Stoutland had injuries last year and the OL wasn’t good so this is not all on Kuper. Still, the confusion and blown blocking assignments is something new. And that is on Kuper.
Eagles-Commanders what we learned: Offensive line miscues should build pressure on Chris Kuper – PHLY Eagles
During his Monday news conference, Sirianni said he won’t make changes to the coaching staff roles. He also defended Kuper’s effort behind the scenes. “We’re not coaching well enough right now and we’re not playing well enough right now,” Sirianni said Monday. “I know we’re speaking offensively. Right now we’re not doing all the things we need to do to win football games. And that falls on everyone’s shoulders. … Chris is coaching his ass off. He’s fighting his ass off. He’s coaching his ass off on a daily basis. You guys don’t get to see that on a daily basis. You get to see it for three hours on Sunday. … I know he’s giving players good tools to use fundamentally and helping them become the best players they possibly can be.” It might make more sense to wait until after this Sunday’s matchup against the New York Giants to take advantage of the following bye week before making changes, but there’s a legitimate argument that the Eagles pass protection calls are currently limiting the team from actually evaluating the group for the future.
Eagles vs. Commanders: The good, the bad, and the ugly – BGN
It was revealed last week that numerous sources in and around the Eagles told Bleeding Green Nation that they still trusted and believed in head coach Nick Sirianni and Fangio. That Sirianni still had the locker room. They still somehow believed that Sirianni could turn around this disaster, because he proved he could win. But where there was once unbending support for learning-on-the-job offensive coordinator Sean Mannion and offensive line coach Chris Kuper, that was bending. It has changed to doubt as the Eagles kept sinking. Mannion simply seems overwhelmed. Kuper can’t foresee where unblocked pressures could come from. That was last week. Let’s make a very strong—but very correct assumption—Mannion and Kuper will not be here next season. Maybe sooner than that. Maybe.
13 young Eagles worth watching in what’s left of a lost season – NBCSP
QB Joe Milton: Maybe the Eagles really do just ride it out with backup quarterback Tanner McKee in place of Jalen Hurts. But there’s some definite intrigue with Milton. The Eagles signed him off the Cowboys’ practice squad on Oct. 16 and it didn’t take long for Milton to supplant Cole Payton as the new backup. The 26-year-old Milton (6-5, 236) has played in just five career games but the former sixth-round pick has plenty of arm talent. His highlight reel from his 2023 season at Tennessee is littered with highlight plays. Milton has a big arm and can elude pressure. He just wasn’t very consistent. But in this lost season, if McKee continues to struggle, it would be fun to see Milton get a chance.
NFC Hierarchy/Obituary: Week 9 edition – PhillyVoice
In Week 5, the Eagles probably played their best game of the season in a loss to the Jaguars, but it was also the week where they may have failed spectacularly as an organization, allowing Jalen Hurts to board two intercontinental flights to and from London and play in a game despite knowing that he had a superficial blood clot in his leg. He would eventually be diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (“DVT”) and bilateral pulmonary emboli (blood clots in the lungs). His season was over at that point. Investigations into what exactly happened from a medical perspective are most certainly not over. And then the last three games, without Hurts, the Eagles got their teeth kicked in by a trio of teams that have a combined 5-12-1 record this season when they don’t get to play the Eagles. Against those three teams, the Eagles got outscored by 43 points and outgained by 343 yards.
Seven things Solak thinks for NFL Week 9: Bucs atop NFC South? RB trades coming? – ESPN
This trade would be a massive win for the Eagles.
Eagles trade TE Johnny Mundt and a 2027 seventh-round pick to the Vikings for a 2027 sixth-round pick. The Vikings might be a headliner for Jonathan Taylor-trade hype, but my sense is that they’re really looking for a strong blocking tight end after the season-ending injury to Josh Oliver in Week 3. Mundt was in Minnesota from 2022 to 2024 with coach Kevin O’Connell and is currently losing his TE2 job in Philadelphia, as rookie Eli Stowers and veteran Grant Calcaterra return from injured reserve. Mundt played 13 snaps in the Eagles’ loss to the Commanders on Sunday night, his season low. He’ll give the Vikings more reliable point-of-attack blocking for a nominal price.
Eagles’ odds to pick No. 1 overall in the NFL draft are stronger than you think. That makes QB the only question. – Inquirer
The reality of the Eagles’ present moment is one that can define their next 5 to 10 years. After another listless performance in a 27-10 loss to the Commanders, the Eagles are almost surely going to end up with a draft pick in the realm where franchise quarterbacks are most often selected. They have a very real chance at landing the No. 1 overall pick. If they don’t earn it outright, they could have an opportunity to trade for it. If they don’t have an opportunity to trade for the pick itself, they could have an opportunity to trade for the incumbent quarterback of the team that does wind up with the pick. Right now, pole position belongs to the Chargers, who also happen to have a 28-year-old quarterback who has received MVP votes. This is not an argument that Justin Herbert is a better quarterback than Hurts. It certainly isn’t an argument that his resume is better. Likewise for Drew Mestemaker, or CJ Carr, or Arch Manning, or any of the other college quarterbacks who mock drafts have targeted as potential first-round picks. The argument is that the Eagles must decide where they stand in each of these individual cases. It’s not even an argument. It’s just the way an organization must handle its business, same as every year. Except, this year, they are bad enough to be in a position where they must actually decide.
NFL Insider Jason La Canfora Week 9 Notebook: Eagles Trade Rumors, Chiefs Eye Mailata – Casino.org
As for a trade for Mailata, the same GM claimed: “That would be a blockbuster trade. You have to protect the quarterback, no matter who that is next year, and that’s a damn good tackle who has a lot of good football left to play.” The Chiefs may be the team to watch with Mailata, who has effectively a veteran-minimum salary and is signed through 2028. Kansas City head coach Andy Reid spent the first half of his Hall of Fame career in Philadelphia, and he has had a lot of upheaval on his offensive line. Now, suddenly free-agent running back Kenneth Walker isn’t on a record pace anymore, and the Chiefs will be making multiple moves ahead of the deadline as we hear it. But the price would have to be high. “Andy isn’t going to sit on his hands,” said one longtime personnel exec who knows Reid well. “He knows he needs help on offense.”
Saquon Barkley’s commitment to the Eagles is impressive – PFT
The Eagles won’t be trading running back Saquon Barkley. For most players on teams that are falling apart, the inability to chase a championship with a high-end contender would be viewed as bad news. Barkley’s comments after Philly’s latest loss make it clear that he welcomes the opportunity to stick around. It’s impressive that Barkley is committed to a seemingly lost cause. Of course, the decision not to trade Barkley doesn’t mean the team is committed to Barkley for as long as he wants to play in Philadelphia.
NFC playoff picture: NY Giants lead in NFC East widens – Big Blue View
The New York Giants get back to work on Monday with a solid hold on first place in the NFC East entering Week 9. The Giants are 4-2-1, and the division results on Sunday worked out in their favor while they were on their bye week. The 3-5 Dallas Cowboys missed an opportunity gain ground of the Giants on Sunday, blowing a 14-point fourth-quarter lead and losing to the Arizona Cardinals 33-30 in overtime. In a matchup of the other two teams in the division, the 2-5-1 Washington Commanders defeated the 2-6 Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10.
Cowboys proved who they are in OT loss to Cardinals – Blogging The Boys
The failures were all-around, up, down, forwards, and backwards for the Cowboys after this game, but to be here in week eight with a healthy Dak Prescott having only beaten Marcus Mariota, C.J. Stroud, and Tanner McKee led teams is a failure in preparation and execution that’s very hard to fathom.
Commanders vs. Eagles (game two) – Studs and Duds – Hogs Haven
What a day to be a fan of the [2-4-1 and third in the NFC East] Commanders! In a primetime nationally televised game at home against a division rival, on a day where the Arizona Cardinals came from behind to defeat the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington and the Giants were on a bye, Washington took it to the Eagles at home!
NFL Power Rankings: Big flips since last poll – SB Nation
The NFL is poised to reach the midpoint of the season and we have a good idea how most of the league is shaping up. We’ve got brutal battles in the NFC West and NFC North, with other divisions more or less shaking themselves out — then there’s the NFC South, where seemingly nobody wants to really win. Here are our rankings for Week 8, and then we’ll go over the biggest risers and fallers since our previous rankings.
Browns waive Week 6 TD scorer; have an open roster spot – Dawgs By Nature
Many are hoping the Browns roster looks different because of trades that greatly improve the roster, with defensive end often mentioned as a big need. Smaller moves, like signing [former Eagles] RB Audric Estime off the Minnesota Vikings practice squad a few weeks ago, can have an impact, albeit smaller and for shorter times. In Week 6, with Cleveland’s running back room limited due to injuries, Estime and Jaleel McLaughlin had 18 of the 19 running back carries, split evenly, against the Baltimore Ravens. Estime’s two-yard run was Cleveland’s lone touchdown for the game, but it was enough to help the Browns come away with a victory. Just over two weeks later, Estime is back on waivers:
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