The Eagles announced an interesting roster move on Sunday night that spelled the end of an era for one 2016 NFL Draft pick.
WR Shelton Gibson as waived with an injury designation and if he clears waivers, he’ll land on the team’s IR, which is important to note. But until then, it’s goodbye for the former WVU receiver who was once poised to fill ‘the need for speed’.
Through his first two seasons, Shelton Gibson had three catches for 59 yards. That production alone is worrying, but 48 of those yards came on a reception against the Vikings last year.
The then second-year receiver finally broke free of his own chains during last year’s preseason, notching 195 yards, scoring 2 touchdowns and leading the team in receiving. However, that wouldn’t be enough to earn him much in the way of plating time at all…with Gibson being pushed into a special teams role. The 5’11, 191 lbs, receiver played in 34% of special teams snaps, primarily acting as a ‘gunner’.
An injury picked up over the last week may have put the nail in the coffin and with Marken Michel proving he-too has some afterburners, Gibson’s road to making the final 53 always looked to be a long one.
What’s interesting is that the Eagles actually worked out former Patriots WR Bruce Ellington today…so it looks like the team aren’t completely done with finding those zippy receivers just yet.
In place of the fifth-round pick, the Eagles signed another Shelton in Sojourn Shelton, a former Wisconsin CB who at 5-9, 177 lbs, joins the growing nickel corner depth battle. He originally signed with Arizona as a UDFA in 2017 before bouncing to Cincinnati where he was waived with an injury settlement.
