Future Hall of Famer Julio Jones will make his Eagles debut against the Dolphins on Sunday Night Football.
The Eagles on Saturday afternoon elevated Jones and defensive back Mekhi Garner from the practice squad for this game.
Jones, 34, is again the NFL’s active leader in receptions (903) and receiving yards (13,629) after spending the first six weeks of the season without a team. Jones’ last game was with the Buccaneers in a playoff loss to the Cowboys on Jan. 16. In that game, Jones had 7 catches for 74 yards and a touchdown.
Even though he’s no longer in his prime, the Eagles think Jones will still be able to help them in the rest of the 2023 season as a third receiver option behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.
“Julio, you’re going to be tempted to want to put him in because he’s a phenomenal player that’s done a lot in this league,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “We are going to have to make sure that we’re not putting him in danger. Doing what we need to do to help us win the game and doing what he needs to do to help us win the game, and also being smart with his rep count just because of elevated risk of injury if you put him in for too much.”
The Eagles held a walkthrough on Wednesday to start the week but practice on Thursday and Friday.
How did Jones look?
“He’s looked good,” Sirianni said. “Yeah, he’s looked good. Exciting when he’s out there, so we’re excited to have him.”
The Eagles will have five receivers active in this game: Brown, Smith, Jones, Olamide Zaccheaus and Britain Covey. Quez Watkins is on Injured Reserve with a hamstring injury.
