The Philadelphia Eagles made a roster move on Tuesday, waiving wide receiver Mack Hollins and signing offensive lineman Sua Opeta off the practice squad.
Hollins’s best season with the Birds came in 2017 when as a rookie, he caught 16 passes for 226 yards and one touchdown.
With the Eagles fully invested in Greg Ward and JJ Arcega-Whiteside, here are four takeaways from the move.
***
1. Hollins production didn’t match his playing time
Hollins logged almost 50 percent of the offensive snaps this season for the Eagles yet only had 10 catches to show for it. Hollins went almost 300 snaps without a catch and hasn’t hauled in a pass since late September.
2. What took so long
Hollins’s best season came as a rookie when he recorded 16 catches for 226 yards and one touchdown. In his career with Philadelphia, Hollins logged 738 snaps and caught 27 passes for 360 yards and one touchdown. Hollins narrowly beat out Greg Ward for a roster spot and if not for his special team’s acumen, would have been cut last season as well.
3. Howie Roseman’s 2017 draft is toast
This is the Eagles draft from 2017
Derek Barnett
Sidney Jones
Rasul Douglas
Mack Hollins
Donnel Pumphrey
Shelton Gibson
Nathan Gerry
Elijah Qualls
Barnett and Douglas are the only players that can constitute a successful pick. Gerry has grown as a player, but he too was once released and re-signed by the Eagles. Pumphrey and Hollins now are two drafted players who literally produced nothing during their time in Philadelphia. The Bears took Tarik Cohen after the Eagles selected Hollins.
4. More heads must roll
Eagles wide receivers coach Carson Walch and Mike Groh defended Hollins earlier this season, saying his grade was never about just receptions and yards after the catch. The Eagles will likely make serious personnel moves this offseason and certain members of the coaching staff will likely move on as well. Walch and Groh should be right behind Hollins for not developing him or any of the other receivers since they’ve arrived.
