Trey Sermon Joins Eagles and What it Could Mean

The RB was claimed off waivers from the 49ers and is now the fourth running back on the roster, which could put the team's other three on notice once he learns the offense

PHILADELPHIA – The running back plot just got a bit thicker, and a bit bigger, too, after the Eagles claimed Trey Sermon off waivers from the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday.

At 6-0, 215 pounds, Sermon could fill that “big” back role the Eagles need.

Not that running backs coach Jemal Singleton admitted to needing one when he spoke to reporters during training camp. He was asked about that very need and touted Boston Scott in that role.

“When you go back and look at Boston Scott’s touchdowns, the majority of them are in the red zone down near the goal line,” said Singleton. “He has a knack for that. You need that ability yes, but it doesn’t have to come in a 240 (pound package), maybe a smaller guy can hit a smaller crease and make some things happen.”

Well, now, maybe Scott doesn’t have to be that guy.

The Eagles had investigated trading for Sermon but waited it out and got him on waivers.

Chances are he won’t have much of a role early in the season. He is probably a likely candidate to be inactive when the Eagles go to Detroit to open the season on Sept. 11.

That status could very well change, however, once the season starts to heat up, and that could put the team’s three other running backs on notice.

It was probably just a coincidence that Miles Sanders returned to practice on Thursday for the first time in nearly three weeks after a hamstring injury sidelined him. He is still the team’s top running back with his quest for a new contract about to begin.

Scott and Gainwell need to produce early if they want to fend off any challenge from Sermon.

Gainwell, particularly.

The second-year running back struggled this summer catching the ball, and if he doesn’t find a way to improve the part of his game that should be his bread-and-butter, well, that wouldn’t bode well for him.

Scott returned on a one-year contract, and one-year contract players are typically expendable. He had a decent summer, but there are no guarantees he makes it through the fall.

Sermon took the final roster spot the Eagles had opened after trading Jalen Reagor and releasing linebacker Davion Taylor on Wednesday.

He was a third-round selection n the 2021 draft, going 15 picks after the Eagles took defensive lineman Milton Williams with the 73rd selection.

The running back, who attended Oklahoma and then transferred to Ohio State for his final season, played in just nine games for the 49ers as a rookie, earning 41 carries for 167 yards and a touchdown. He had three catches for 26 yards and another score.

He played in the same backfield as Kennedy Brooks, who spent the summer with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent and is now on the team’s practice squad.

As a sophomore at OU, Sermon rang up 13 touchdowns and 947 yards. He struggled in 2019, but had a career rebirth in Columbus, Ohio, running for 870 yards and four touchdowns while catching 12 passes for 95 yards with the Buckeyes.

Sermon had 26 career rushing scores in his four collegiate seasons with three more through the air.

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.