The Eagles were so thin at wide receiver on Sunday that Kamar Aiken, who signed with the team a few days earlier, played 62 of 79 offensive snaps
Even before Mike Wallace went down with an ankle injury after just seven snaps, it seemed like Aiken was going to have a role. But after that injury, the 29-year-old veteran, who signed Wednesday, barely left the field, playing 78 percent of the team's offensive snaps.
Aiken, 29, had been with the Eagles in training camp, so he knew the offense, but got hurt in the summer and didn't make the original 53-man roster.
Aiken finished the game with five catches for 39 yards. Aiken hadn't played that many offensive snaps since Week 5 last season with the Colts last year; he hadn't caught five passes in a game since the final game of the 2015 season, when he was still with the Ravens.
"It's tough," Aiken said about playing a few days after rejoining the team. "I wouldn't recommend it every year, but it is what it is. I try to make the best out of it."
Other offensive snap count notes
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- We already mentioned that Wallace left after seven snaps. Well, Jason Peters was able to play just eight snaps before his quad injury forced him out. He said he expects to play next weekend against the Colts, but this week will determine that.
- Despite a back injury that left Jay Ajayi in pain and frustrated after the loss, he toughed it out to play 22 snaps. Corey Clement played 33 and Wendell Smallwood played 24. Darren Sproles (hamstring) was inactive, so the Eagles had just three to start the game.
- Shelton Gibson and DeAndre Carter played a combined 54 snaps and had exactly zero catches to show for it. Oof.
- Tight end Josh Perkins actually played more snaps (26) than second-round pick Dallas Goedert (17). Yikes. More on that here.
Defensive snap count notes
- After playing an astounding 93 percent of snaps in the opener, Fletcher Cox saw his workload decrease significantly in the extreme heat and humidity in Tampa. Cox played 46 snaps (79 percent).
- Michael Bennett played just 24 snaps, the fewest of the Eagles' four active defensive ends. Brandon Graham led the way with 39, followed by 35 from Derek Barnett and 25 from Chris Long.
- It looks like Kamu Grugier-Hill is the guy at weakside linebacker for now. He technically got the first start of his career on Sunday and played 22 defensive snaps (38 percent), while Nate Gerry got just four. KGH didn't see his special teams role decrease much either; he played 20 special teams snaps.
- After Destiny Vaeao started the opener, Haloti Ngata started at DT next to Cox on Sunday and played 36 snaps (62 percent). Vaeao played 23. The Eagles' clearly don't trust Bruce Hector to play a lot; he got just three defensive snaps and four on special teams.
- Rodney McLeod, Jordan Hicks, Malcolm Jenkins and Jalen Mills didn't leave the field on defense, playing all 58 snaps.
Here's a full look at Eagles snap counts from Sunday's 27-21 loss:
Offense
Brandon Brooks: 79 snaps (100 percent)
Lane Johnson: 79 (100)
Stefen Wisniewski: 79 (100)
Jason Kelce: 79 (100)
Nick Foles: 79 (100)
Zach Ertz: 74 (94)
Nelson Agholor: 72 (91)
Halapoulivaati Vaitai: 71 (90)
Kamar Aiken: 62 (78)
Shelton Gibson: 35 (44)
Corey Clement: 33 (42)
Josh Perkins: 26 (33)
Wendell Smallwood: 24 (30)
Jay Ajayi: 22 (28)
DeAndre Carter: 19 (24)
Dallas Goedert: 17 (22)
Jason Peters: 8 (10)
Mike Wallace: 7 (9)
Isaac Seumalo: 4 (5)
Defense
Malcolm Jenkins: 58 snaps (100 percent)
Rodney McLeod: 58 snaps (100)
Jordan Hicks: 58 (100)
Jalen Mills: 58 (100)
Ronald Darby: 54 (93)
Nigel Bradham: 47 (81)
Fletcher Cox: 46 (79)
Brandon Graham: 39 (67)
Haloti Ngata: 36 (62)
Derek Barnett: 35 (60)
Sidney Jones: 31 (53)
Chris Long: 25 (43)
Michael Bennett: 24 (41)
Destiny Vaeao: 23 (40)
Kamu Grugger-Hill: 22 (38)
Corey Graham: 16 (28)
Nate Gerry: 4 (7)
Bruce Hector: 3 (5)
Rasul Douglas: 1 (2)
