When Eagles executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman discussed Tuesday’s trade for running back Jay Ajayi, he said that Ajayi’s arrival wouldn’t knock LeGarrette Blount off his perch at the top of the depth chart.
Roseman later added that the coaching staff could decide to go another way, but that won’t be happening immediately. Head coach Doug Pederson said Blount won’t be playing any more or less than he’s been playing and that any thoughts about what the future might bring are speculation because the Eagles don’t know how quickly Ajayi will pick up their offense.
“It goes back to how fast Jay can pick up our system and get comfortable with the things we’re doing,” Pederson said in comments distributed by the team. “Again, it would be a disservice to just throw him out there right away. Nothing’s going to change as far as the rotation and how we’re doing things right now.”
Pederson was also asked about reports of locker room issues with Ajayi in Miami.
“As hard as it is probably for you all to believe -- first of all, I can’t speculate on what happened in South Florida,” Pederson said. “I trust the guys on this team to handle players. Everybody has a past. Everybody has a past, and as hard as it is probably for you all to sit here and believe that, I was in the situation where we brought in a player, and there were reports of character issues and all kinds of things. You know what, the guys rallied around him, and there was not one issue whatsoever with this player, and we went on to win a Super Bowl. That’s where it lies. It lies with the trust of the team.”
Pederson won the Super Bowl with the Packers after the 1996 season and Andre Rison would be a good guess for the player he is referring to in his answer. Pederson certainly wouldn’t mind lightning striking twice after a 7-1 start to the season.