A QB, a Punter, and a Kicker Make the Top 3 at No. 6 for Eagles
Kicker, punters, and quarterbacks walk into the Eagles equipment room and put on a uniform with the No. 6 on the front and back…
There is no punchline, here, it’s just a fact about the No. 6. It was popularly worn by those three positions.
Who wore it best in determining the rankings for that number as our jersey countdown to kickoff reaches No. 6, which is the same number of days until the Eagles open the season against Washington?
The list isn’t that strong, but it’s still a close call.
Here’s more:
Current number 6:
Travis Fulgham. The wide receiver was released as part of the team’s cut down to 53 players, but he was quickly brought back and added to the practice squad on Sunday. For good reason. Fulgham arrived late to camp but did some nice things once he got there and seemed to develop decent chemistry with Jalen Hurts on the third team.
Fulgham is 6-2, 215, but is not from a football factory. He went to Old Dominion, which is the same school that gave the Eagles their standout long snapper, Rick Lovato.
Top 3 to wear number 6:
3. Alex Henery. The Eagles spent a fourth-round choice on the kicker out of Nebraska in 2011 (120th player taken overall) and he lasted just three years and was out of the league after four.
Still, Henery made 74 field goals with the Eagles, which is still tied for seventh-most in team history with current Eagles kicker Jake Elliott.
His rookie season was his best with an 83.7 percentage on field goal makes, which is the third-best rookie mark in team history. His 118 points are second-most points for a rookie in the Eagles’ record books.
2. Sav Rocca. The Eagles gave the star Australian Rules Football star from North Melbourne a shot and Rocca took advantage of it. Rocca was 32 when he retired from Australian football and joined the Eagles in 2007 at the age of 34, which made him the NFL’s oldest rookie ever.
Built like a linebacker, Rocca could boom the ball. He spent four years with the Eagles before finishing with three years in Washington.
He still sits third in Eagles history with a 36.7 career net punting average and third for most punts inside the 20 with 102.
1. Bubby Brister. The quarterback played seven seasons in Pittsburgh going 28-29 in 57 starts with the Steelers before coming to the Eagles in 1993 at the age of 31.
He spent just two seasons in Philadelphia, and it was mostly as a backup, but Brister gets high marks for setting a team record in 1993 that stood for more than a decade, and that was for the lowest interception percentage. He started eight games that season, with two more relief appearances subbing for injured Randall Cunningham.
Highlights that year included a 27-completion, 245-yard, two-touchdown performance over the Super Bowl champion Cowboys on Monday Night Football and a win over the NFC West champion 49ers when he threw for 353 yards and three touchdowns.
Donovan McNabb eventually broke Brister’s team mark for the lowest single-season interception rating.
After a 1994 season in which Brister made just two starts, he was off the Jets before finishing up his 14-year career with three seasons in Denver and one in Minnesota.
Runner-up:
Caleb Sturgis. The kicker spent three seasons with the Eagles beginning in 2015 and converted 84.8 percent of his field goal. Sturgis, though, may best be remembered for an injury in 2017 that led to him being put on IR and the Eagles finding Jake Elliott on the practice squad of the Bengals. Elliott made some big kicks in that Super Bowl season and continues to do so even now.
Others: Jim MacMurdo, Gary Adams, John Reaves, Spike Jones, Dan Pastorini, Matt Cavanaugh, Jason Baker, Lee Johnson, and Jose Cortez.
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