During the 2016 season, Mychal Kendricks didn't do much to hide the fact he was frustrated with his lack of playing time.
After Jim Schwartz's defense came to town, the Eagles used their nickel package more and more. That meant Jordan Hicks and Nigel Bradham stayed on the field, while Kendricks pulled up a seat.
And it doesn't seem like that's going to change anytime soon.
"Mych's done a good job for us," Eagles linebackers coach Ken Flajole said Monday. "I think everyone is concerned about how come Mych's not in nickel right now?
"Again, if nickel turns into a three-linebacker package, he'll be out there."
Well, that's not going to happen. Kendricks, who played just 27 percent of the Eagles' defensive snaps in 2016, appears headed for a similar role in 2017, despite a salary cap hit of $6.6 million, more than Hicks and Bradham combined.
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Kendricks was a part of the Eagles' base package in 2016 but was the odd man out when they went into nickel, coming off the field in favor of a defensive back. According to Flajole, the team was in nickel just over 70 percent of the time in 2016.
While Kendricks was on the sideline, Hicks and Bradham played well. More importantly, they stayed healthy. Both played at least 95 percent of the team's defensive snaps last season.
Early last season, Kendricks finally admitted his frustration. And he did it again late in the season after a bizarre display where he practiced long-snapping on the sideline during a December loss to Washington.
This offseason, Kendricks has been the subject of trade rumors but nothing has materialized yet. He's still on the team.
"Mych's done a good job for us, No. 1," Flajole said. "Again, if you're really truly a competitor and you're not playing every snap, I would expect that nobody would be happy with the fact that they're just out there in base right now and they have limited time in our nickel package. I know this: I know he's important to our defense. I'm glad he's here.
"Again, somebody asked me what does he have to do to get out on the field? Well, my comment was if we were starting Nigel Bradham and Mychal Kendricks in our nickel package, you would ask me what does Jordan Hicks have to do to get on the field? It's just the math of what we've got right now. It's a nickel league with a two-linebacker set right now and unfortunately, the numbers crunch a little bit, and not in his favor."
Flajole spent a good portion of his session with reporters Monday talking about the changing landscape of the NFL. In his seventh stint with an NFL team, Flajole laughed when saying the Eagles were going to practice facing two-running back sets this spring because NFL teams rarely deploy two-running back sets anymore.
It's a passing league. And that means a lot of time on the sideline for Kendricks for the second straight year.
"I always tell him, 'Mych, even though you're not on the field right now, you're an ankle sprain away from being in,'" Flajole said, "'so we're going to count on you that way.' And he's embraced that. I wouldn't expect him to like it. I wouldn't expect anybody who's not playing to like it."
