The Philadelphia Eagles in the midst of a blowout win against the Panthers were ready to celebrate. But then they saw the injury and were deflated. Clay Harbor, the breakout star tight end who has been a staple of the Eagles offense since being named the starter in preseason was diagnosed with a forearm fracture. He will be out 7 weeks and the Eagles are now left scrambling to figure out what they will do during their toughest stretch of the season. Remember, the Eagles play the Cowboys whom almost handed them a loss, and both the Giants and Redskins whom both are the lone darkspots on the Eagles season with two blowout losses to each. “Not going to lie, it does make me nervous. Clay has come a long way and hasn’t dropped many passes since he’s worked on his technique”. And that truly is the story of Harbor’s season as he started the year raw, but explosive and has seen his ability grow each week. He will finish the regular season with 54 receptions for 1,206 yards receiving and 13 TDs. Clay Harbor was on pace for his first ever pro bowl, but the injury will most likely take him out of the running and 49ers star Vernon Davis will get the nod.
Now the question being asked is what will the Eagles do. Well, ironically they have already signed a guy off their practice squad. James Hanna. The 2012 6th Round pick out of Oklahoma by the cowboys was cut earlier this year due to their not really being a need for another tight end on the roster. With Jason Witten entrenched the Cowboys had to make cuts somewhere and Hanna was one of the casualties. Hanna ran 4.55 at his combine and displays excellent athleticism. However, he is even more raw than Clay Harbor was to begin the season and struggles with holding onto the ball and is one of the worst route runners in NFL history. He has great size and physical skills so Chuck Nasty seems content to give him the remainder of the season to develop into a more refined player. “I want to give him a chance because he has so much upside. We already know what we have with Brent Celek. If Hanna doesn’t work out we will throw him in an Iron Maiden for all eternity for ruining our season and then start Brent Celek.”
