Eagles BREAKING: Philadelphia Moves Julio Jones to Active Roster for Miami Dolphins

What's Philadelphia Eagles Plan for New WR Julio Jones - who has just been activated to the roster - vs. Miami Dolphins?
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The great likelihood is that there will be better days and bigger times for the Philadelphia Eagles to utilize newcomer receiver Julio Jones, signed this week just ahead of the NFL's key matchup in Week 7, Eagles vs. Miami Dolphins.

But just in case ...

“You’re going to be tempted to want to put him in because he’s a phenomenal player that’s done a lot in this league,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said at week's end. "(But) we are going to have to make sure that we’re not putting him in danger.''

Eagles' Julio Jones - NFLAnalysisNetwork
Eagles' Julio Jones - NFLAnalysisNetwork

The "danger''? The veteran wide receiver, a likely future Hall of Famer Jones, is 34. The days of him consistently terrorizing defenses as he did in Atlanta - the former perennial Pro Bowl selection may be the Falcons' greatest-ever player - are well behind him.

And of course, on the roster of the 5-1 Eagles already exist one of the NFL's best wideout tandems in AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith, so Jones is very much meant to be a supplementary player. But on Saturday, Jones has indeed been "called up to the varsity.'' He'll get a roster spot vs. Miami.

'Here to Dominate': Julio Jones Talks Signing with Eagles

So ... how soon might he "supplement'' in ways as part of the offense? Sirianni is right about the "temptation,'' not only because of the big-bodied Jones' skills but also because of the Sunday night opponent, the dangerous Dolphins, who are also 5-1.

It's unclear how much Jones will play against the Dolphins; there are other showdowns on the Eagles' schedule, of course, including two meetings with the Dallas Cowboys.

Sirianni's thinking at the moment? The Eagles will do "what we need do to help us win the game and doing what he needs to do to help us win the game, and also being smart with his rep count just because of elevated risk of injury if you put him in for too much.”

But the Eagles now obviously plan to "put Julio in'' for at least some snaps.


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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983. He is the author of two best-selling books on the NFL.