With a clear need for receivers, the Eagles recently reached out to Torrey Smith to gauge his interest level in possibly ending his retirement, NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark reported.
Smith said no thanks.
I'm told Eagles reached out to Torrey Smith recently with the need at receiver, but Torrey is going to stay retired
Will always have this#Eagles pic.twitter.com/gIGiE4QsZo— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) November 5, 2019
Smith is 30 now and officially announced his retirement in September. He was cut by the Panthers on Sept. 1 and decided that was enough for him. He walked away from the NFL with two Super Bowl rings.
I can't blame the Eagles for trying to at least see if Smith would be interested. At least he has speed, which is what they're really lacking now that DeSean Jackson is on IR. But trying to lure a 30-year-old out of retirement does have a hint of desperation.
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Make no mistake about it, the Eagles should be somewhat desperate. Their receivers have struggled to produce without Jackson over the last month and a half and now we know his season is likely over.
The Eagles also worked out Jordan Matthews on Tuesday.
Even before Jackson went on IR, Doug Pederson on Monday admitted the Eagles were looking to possibly add a receiver.
"At this point it's something we'll take a look at," Pederson said. "We have to take a look at it, obviously. It's real. We're sort of at the halfway point, a little over a game over the halfway point of our season and we have time this week to make these decisions.
"We'll take a look at it, but nothing right now."
It seems like they'll be doing something soon. With Jackson on IR and after waiving Andrew Sendejo, the Eagles have two open roster spots on their bye week.
The Eagles traded Smith to the Panthers in March of 2018 for Daryl Worley, but also to get his salary off their books. In 11 games with the Panthers last season, Smith played in 11 games and had 17 catches for 190 yards and two touchdowns.
In his one season with the Eagles, Smith caught 36 passes for 430 yards and two touchdowns. His last game with the Eagles was Super Bowl LII, when he caught five passes for 49 yards. In that postseason, he had 13 catches for 157 yards and a touchdown in the NFC Championship Game.
Those memories will have to be enough.
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