Doug Pederson stood at the front of the Eagles' auditorium on Wednesday and said he didn’t anticipate any repercussions for Josh Huff until more information was gathered.
On Thursday, the team cut him. [[399843841, C]]
And vice president of football operations Howie Roseman had to stand at the same podium and try to explain the team’s decision.
“For us, we just want to go through a process, gather all the information and then sit down as an organization and make a decision that we think is the right decision for the Philadelphia Eagles,” Roseman said.
Huff’s release comes just two days after the 25-year-old was pulled over after speeding home to New Jersey across the Walt Whitman Bridge. Police found a gun, loaded magazine, under 50 grams of marijuana and hollow-point bullets. Among other things, according to the police report, Huff was charged for unlawful possession of a firearm because his Smith & Wesson 9MM was registered in Texas, not New Jersey.
On Thursday, Roseman declined to answer a question asking if the team had acquired more information than what has been publicly available through the police report. Roseman declined to give specifics about any aspect of the Eagles' fact-searching mission, many times saying that they made the best decision for the Philadelphia Eagles.
“It’s disappointing that we have to stand up here and do this,” Roseman said. “But we’re trying to build something. We’re trying to build something that lasts and some of that means that we’re going to have to make some hard decisions and all we can do is do what we think is right for the Philadelphia Eagles.”
While Huff was at the NovaCare Complex on Tuesday morning, he claimed he didn’t have his gun on the premises. Roseman said Huff told the team the same thing and they never found out differently.
Roseman said the team used the last 48 hours as fact-gathering time. Eventually, he sat down with owner Jeffrey Lurie, president Don Smolenski and Pederson and made the decision to cut Huff.
“Everyone was on board with the decision,” Roseman said. “That’s why we made the decision. And over the last 48 hours, when we go through our process, we talked to a lot of people. And again, there’s no science to this. We have a process and we try to do what’s right.
Roseman and Pederson told Huff the news in person on Thursday morning.
Huff, of course, isn’t the only Eagle to get himself into trouble with the law this year. First, Nelson Agholor was accused of sexual assault in June, but charges were dropped. But Nigel Bradham has been in trouble twice, first for an alleged assault and more recently for trying to bring a loaded gun through airport security.
So why was Huff cut and Bradham not disciplined?
“Very different set of circumstances,” Roseman said.
The Eagles used a third-round pick to draft Huff out of Oregon in 2014. In his two years and seven games with the Eagles, Huff caught 48 passes for 482 yards and four touchdowns.
While he hasn’t been a very productive receiver during his time in the NFL, Huff has emerged as a solid kick returner. This season, he returned one 98 yards for a touchdown and had an average of 36.0 yards per return, which ranks him first in the league among players with at least seven attempts. He was the NFC’s Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 7.
“There’s no doubt that he was coming along as a player and that he helps this team,” Roseman said. “But we have to do what’s in the best interest of this organization, this building and the 53 guys. We have a responsibility to a lot of people here. And we don’t take that lightly.”
The Eagles have not yet filled Huff’s spot on the 53-man roster, but Roseman said he expects the spot to be filled by the time the team plays in North Jersey against the Giants on Sunday. It’s possible practice squad receiver Paul Turner could get the call.
