PHILADELPHIA — Eagles rookie linebacker Jihaad Campbell’s role changed during Sunday‘s 38-20 victory over the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field.
Campbell watched from the sidelines as linebackers Nakobe Dean and Zack Baun took the majority of reps and as three edge rushers — Patrick Johnson, Josh Uche and Jalyx Hunt — played ahead of him.
It’s surprising that Campbell, one of the best defensive rookies in the NFL, was not on the field in critical moments.
According to Pro Football Focus, Campbell only played 40.4% of the snaps at linebacker, his lowest count of the season. He played 93% of the defensive snaps over the first seven weeks, which begs the question: why wasn’t he on the field more Sunday?
Perhaps he was hurt.
Perhaps he got demoted.
Well, cross the first one out.
“I’m healthy. I’m good,” Campbell told NJ Advance Media after the game.
Campbell is regarded as one of the NFL’s top coverage linebackers, and the Eagles typically use him in obvious passing situations — but not this time.
With 1:53 remaining in the third quarter, Giants running back Devin Singletary beat Dean on third-and-7 for a 28-yard catch. Campbell would have matched up better against Singletary’s speed.
Dean has played well in his first two starts (Vikings and Giants) this season, showing he still deserves a significant role on defense. He missed the first five games recovering from a knee injury suffered last season.
It’s unclear whether Campbell has been demoted in favor of Dean or if he’ll take on a larger role as an edge rusher after the Week 9 bye, but his usage moving forward bears watching.
Campbell only finished with two tackles against New York, his lowest amount this season.
“It’s just football, man. You know what I am saying?” Campbell said about his snaps decreasing in Week 8.
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