Latest news with #JalenReagor
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Justin Herbert testing out red-tinted contact lenses at Chargers camp, says they help him see field better
Justin Herbert makes headlines every time the Los Angeles Chargers quarterback switches up his hairstyle. He's in the news Thursday for another change to his appearance. The blue-eyed Herbert is testing red-tinted contact lenses at Chargers training camp. The prescription UV protection lenses serve as an alternative to a tinted helmet visor, which Herbert tried to wear a couple years ago but didn't like because of how often he had to clean it off. "They're like sunglasses," Herbert said of the red-tinted contact lenses, according to The Associated Press. "They really helped. I didn't have to squint nearly as much." While Herbert also used the lenses for his sensitive eyes earlier in the week while he got work in with the team's rookies, he told reporters Thursday that he doesn't think his teammates in the huddle were expecting his eyes to look dark red. 'When I stepped in the huddle, I think some of the guys were a little surprised,' Herbert said, per the AP. "But they were like, 'Oh, we're going to score.'" Herbert reportedly enjoyed quite a bit of success during Thursday's practice, perhaps most notably connecting downfield with wide receiver Jalen Reagor for a highlight-reel touchdown. The former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and one-time Pro Bowler dropped in the deep pass over Chargers cornerback Cam Hart. Earlier this month, Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker — who has a strikingly similar look to Herbert — went on FS1's "The Herd" and told a story about how the two of them wore the red contacts to dinner one night. 'We looked like we were vampires,' Dicker said. 'We were like, 'This is incredible.'' Herbert would like to wear the contacts in games this season, although he admitted Thursday he'll have to verify if they're permitted by league rules.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Inside How Eagles GM Howie Roseman's Biggest Mistake Led to Super Bowl
Inside How Eagles GM Howie Roseman's Biggest Mistake Led to Super Bowl originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The draft card was already filled out. TCU wide receiver Jalen Reagor, 21st overall pick, Philadelphia Eagles. In his home during the COVID-19 pandemic, Howie Roseman probably felt that familiar flutter of confidence that comes with making what you believe is the right choice. One pick later, the Minnesota Vikings would select Justin Jefferson from LSU and everything would change for both teams. Advertisement That April evening in 2020 would come to define the lowest point of Roseman's career as Eagles general manager. This week, when Bleacher Report's Matt Holder named Reagor the NFL's "Worst First Round Pick" of the last five years, it served as a stark reminder of just how bad that decision looked. Yet four years later, as confetti fell at Super Bowl LIX and the Eagles celebrated their 40-22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, that same mistake had somehow become the foundation of Roseman's greatest success. The pain wasn't just in what Philadelphia got, but in what they missed. While Reagor struggled to stay healthy, managing just 31 catches for 396 yards as a rookie, Jefferson was breaking records with 88 catches for 1,400 yards and earning All-Pro honors. The gap only got worse. Reagor's entire two-year Eagles career produced 64 catches for 695 yards. Jefferson's worst season still had 68 catches for 1,074 yards in just 10 games. But hidden in that same draft was a decision that would save Roseman's career. Just 32 picks after the Reagor selection, with the 53rd overall choice, Roseman took a chance on Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts. It seemed odd at the time, drafting a quarterback when Carson Wentz was supposed to be the franchise player. Critics questioned why they needed the pick. But sometimes the best decisions don't make sense to anyone else. The 2020 season became a disaster that proved every critic right. The Eagles stumbled to a 4-11-1 record, their worst finish since 2016. Wentz played so poorly that by December, Hurts was getting his first NFL starts. What looked like desperation was actually the first glimpse of Roseman's salvation. When the Eagles finally traded Reagor to Minnesota for a fifth-round pick in 2022, it stung. They were giving their first-round bust to the very team that showed them what the right choice looked like. But by then, Hurts had the keys to the franchise and everything was changing. Advertisement Rather than hiding from his failure, Roseman got aggressive. The 2021 season marked the real start of his comeback, as Hurts became the full-time starter and began showing flashes of greatness. The Eagles made the playoffs for the first time since 2018. The 2021 draft became another statement when Roseman selected Alabama's DeVonta Smith with the 10th overall pick. This wasn't playing it safe after the Reagor disaster. This was betting big on another receiver, knowing another miss might cost him his job, while building around the quarterback he'd quietly found in that same 2020 class. Smith played well right away, but Roseman wasn't done. In April 2022, he made the trade that defined his career, getting A.J. Brown from the Tennessee Titans for the 18th and 101st picks. The move was risky, giving up valuable draft picks for a player who would need a huge contract right away. The Eagles gave Brown a three-year, $96 million deal before he played a single snap in Philadelphia. The 2022 season proved Roseman right. The Eagles started 8-0 for the first time ever, with Hurts and the new offense clicking immediately. They finished 14-3, then destroyed the Giants and 49ers by a combined 69-14 to reach Super Bowl LVII. Though they lost to Kansas City 38-35, the foundation was clearly strong. Then came 2023 and Roseman's biggest test yet. After losing both coordinators to head coaching jobs, the Eagles started 10-1 and looked unbeatable. But then everything fell apart. They lost five of their last six regular season games and got embarrassed 32-9 by Tampa Bay in the playoffs. Critics started questioning everything again. Had Roseman just gotten lucky? Was the Super Bowl run a fluke? Advertisement Here's what made Roseman different from other GMs facing similar problems: he didn't panic. Instead, he made smart changes, hiring defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. More importantly, he figured out what the team really needed—a dynamic running back who could take pressure off Hurts and help the passing game. Enter the 2024 masterstroke: signing Saquon Barkley away from the division rival New York Giants. The move shocked everyone and paid off immediately. Barkley didn't just succeed; he made history, rushing for over 2,000 yards and becoming just the ninth player ever to reach that milestone. With Brown continuing his All-Pro play and Smith staying consistent, Roseman had built the most explosive offense in team history. The 2024 season became complete vindication. The Eagles finished with 18 total wins, tying the NFL record. They scored a playoff-record 145 points on their way to the championship, finishing with a dominant 40-22 victory over Kansas City in Super Bowl LIX. This wasn't just redemption; it was a masterclass in building a team. What makes Roseman's story so impressive isn't just that he fixed his mistakes—it's how he handled each challenge. Not every move worked perfectly. Some coaching hires struggled and several free agent signings didn't pan out. But his success rate on big decisions has been remarkable. Beyond the headline moves, he's consistently found value in later draft rounds and smart veteran signings. The Barkley signing was brilliant not just for what it accomplished, but for when he did it—taking advantage of a rival's mistake while filling a crucial need. Advertisement The man who once faced potential firing after a disastrous draft pick now sits at the top of the NFL, his methods proven by the ultimate prize. It's a turnaround that shows the power of learning from failure, of responding to embarrassment with determination and of never letting one mistake define an entire career. The draft card that once represented rock bottom somehow became the first chapter in a redemption story that ended with the Lombardi Trophy. In a league where careers can end with a single bad decision, Howie Roseman turned his worst moment into his greatest triumph. Related: Eagles' Jeremiah Trotter 'Is On The Trade Block' Per Report Related: New Eagles Corner Speaks Out on Unique Style of Philadelphia Coach Vic Fangio This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 27, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
27-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Recent Eagles redraft delivers hype but the wrong outcome
What if we told you a bad Eagles decision led to a chain reaction of necessary events? Things couldn't have been any stranger in 2020. The Philadelphia Eagles entered the NFL Draft on the heels of a 9-7 season. A win-loss total that barely exceeded .500 was good enough to give the Birds the NFC East's crown. Four straight wins had catapulted them into the playoffs, but things ended with a thud during the Wild Card Round. Carson Wentz would be injured early. He left the game with a concussion. A 17-9 loss would follow about three hours later. It was a bitter end to a season that was beginning to feel like Philadelphia had possibly caught fire at the appropriate time. No one knew it then, but that would be the only postseason appearance for the Eagles with Wentz under center. Things only got stranger. COVID-19 turned our world upside down and soon restricted us to our homes. There would be no March Madness. We would, however, enjoy the draft mentioned above, which, by the way, was virtual. The plan seemed obvious. Philadelphia needed to find Carson Wentz a weapon at wide receiver. It seemed easy enough in a selection meeting that was full of them. The stars had aligned. Philadelphia was on the clock with the 21st overall selection. Justin Jefferson was still on the board, but an ugly fact of life is that things don't always work out as we think they should. There isn't an Eagles fan breathing that doesn't know what happened next. The Philadelphia Eagles ignore Justin Jefferson in favor of Jalen Reagor Some call it the greatest draft-day miss in Howie Roseman's career. Philadelphia passed on LSU All-American wide receiver Justin Jefferson, electing instead to go with Jalen Reagor. Some say the deciding factor was that Jalen Reagor gave the Eagles the added dimension of having a special-teams ace. He was billed as someone who wasn't just a receiver but also a punt returner. Others believe wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead was an unnamed culprit who helped precipitate a bad decision. After all, he and Jalen's father, Montae Reagor, were friends and former teammates. Whatever the reason for the decision, it doesn't rewrite history or change what happened. Jalen landed with the Eagles. The Minnesota Vikings drafted Justin Jefferson one spot later at 22. Reagor's career didn't work out in Philadelphia. Jefferson is still playing in Minneapolis and has grown into one of the best talents in the game at his position. If only there were a machine of some sort that would allow us all to travel back in time, but what if there were? Based on everything that has transpired since the Reagor addition, is it feasible to state maybe it's best to leave things as they are? Some of you are having a hard time with that theory, aren't you? Well, not so fast, as the great Lee Corso would say. Let's reason through this one together. A 2020 draft re-do gives the Eagles Jefferson (But, hold on a second) Since that draft mishap, whether fair or unfair, Eagles fans still think of Reagor every time they think of Jefferson. It's understandable why they would, but here's the most radical theory you'll hear all week. The Jalen Reagor selection set off a satisfying domino effect. Bleacher Report's Matt Holder recently redrafted every NFL team's worst pick of the past five offseasons. You already know where this is headed, right? However, perhaps a redraft isn't the best option. Maybe we should see Reagor as the catalyst for one of the best positional rebuilds in NFL history. Holder is correct in stating, "taking the TCU wide receiver in the first round will go down as one of the biggest draft whiffs in NFL history, considering the player who was drafted right after him." He's also right to point out "Howie Roseman made up for his blunder by drafting DeVonta Smith in 2021 and trading for A.J. Brown in 2022". Here's what he misses. Here's where we connect the dots. Had Philadelphia taken Jefferson, they more than likely wouldn't have drafted DeVonta Smith in Round 1 a year later. They certainly don't trade for A.J. Brown later if they have both of them. Dare we say that the blunder that was Reagor's addition was some weird blessing in disguise? A.J. and DeVonta have morphed into the best one-two punches we have seen in the game at the wide receiver position. Sure, Jefferson is excellent. He always has been, but raise your hand if you're giving away A.J. or DeVonta. That's what we thought. Perhaps we've been looking at this the wrong way. Maybe Howie Roseman is so great at his job that, even when he screws things up, they turn out alright.
