Nick Sirianni addresses report linking Odell Beckham Jr. to the Eagles

Dec 7, 2022 - 9:47 PM

Eagles’ head coach Nick Sirianni spoke with reporters on Wednesday ahead of walkthroughs, and talked about the cornerback room and whether he expects Avonte Maddox to play on Sunday, as well as why it’s so helpful to have a quarterback as versatile as Jalen Hurts. Sirianni also addressed the report that the Eagles could be a landing place for WR Odell Beckham Jr.

Here’s what the head coach had to say:

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On signing Odell Beckham Jr.

After reports emerged on Wednesday that the Eagles could be a possible landing spot for Odell Beckham Jr., Sirianni said that he’s really happy with the receiver room they have, and it’s the best WR group he’s been apart of in the NFL.

He went on to say that everyone knows what they have in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, plus Quez Watkins continues to make plays, and Zach Pascal is very critical to the team. He emphasized that the WR4 has to be able to play special teams and has to be willing to do the dirty work, like Paschal does. And then the WR5 has to play special teams, and theirs is Britain Covey, who has been the returner this season and had his best career game against Tennessee. So, overall, he’s really excited about that room.

Sirianni quipped that he would let that explanation answer whether or not Beckham Jr. was in the mix, but still wouldn’t give a direct answer.

On the CB position

Sirianni said that they’re hopeful that Avonte Maddox is able to be back this week, but they’ll see how things go this week.

He later talked about how Darius Slay and James Bradberry compliment each other, noting that it makes it tough for offenses to choose which guy to target because neither is a weak-link.

“We don’t have a weak link and those guys are playing strong football and they’re both really good players. James [Bradberry] was our Player of the Week this past week against Tennessee; he had a great game.”

Sirianni went on to say that both Slay and Bradberry have both done a nice job, not just taking the football, but denying the football, too. They’re both intelligent and highly-skilled players.

On Jalen Hurts’ versatility

The quarterback won NFC Offensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week thanks to a performance that was much different, though just as dynamic, as the week prior. Sirianni admitted that he probably hasn’t had a QB before that allowed the offense to be so versatile, joking that Philip Rivers certainly wasn’t running for over 100 yards.

The head coach said that it’s pretty special what Hurts is able to do. Sirianni didn’t want to get into specifics, but noted that the way Hurts ran the ball in Week 12 had a “major, major effect” on what the Titans did in Week 13. Now, teams will have to see how the Titans played them and consider different options, so Hurts’ versatility helps the coaches and the entire team.

Other notables

• The head coach said that they aren’t looking ahead to the postseason, but last year when they made the playoffs he did point to some of the veterans who had been there before. So, while it’s nice to have guys on the roster and among the staff who have won a Super Bowl, it isn’t something they’re paying attention to right now.
• Sirianni talked about how important it is to keep the defensive tackles fresh, and acknowledged that the addition of Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh have helped reduce the load of Fletcher Cox — who has had a sack in the last two games. The head coach talked a lot about how the whole defense runs through Cox and when he’s firing, it allows big plays to happen, even if he’s not the one with the stat.
• He said that Brian Daboll is one of his biggest mentors, and he isn’t surprised that the Giants are playing as well as they are with their new head coach.