Eagles’ Jalen Reagor embracing the ‘humbling experience’ of fighting to make the roster

Jalen Reagor is trying to block out the noise.

The Eagles’ former first-round pick entered training camp on the roster bubble for the first time in his young career and has responded with an effort to focus on what’s important.

“I’m just putting my head down and going to work,” Reagor told reporters Wednesday. “I’m not really worried about anything else. I’m just focusing on myself.”

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The 23-year-old receiver had a tumultuous two-year stretch to start his professional career. The Eagles took him 21st overall in the 2020 NFL draft, one spot ahead of Minnesota Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson. As Jefferson went on to become an immediate difference maker and the league’s offensive rookie of the year, Reagor struggled to make an impact.

Last summer, he had a rocky start to training camp. He failed a conditioning test on the first day, dealing with the death of a close childhood friend that weighed on him emotionally. This offseason, Reagor lost another close friend: former Arizona Cardinals cornerback and Texas Christian standout Jeff Gladney, who died in a car accident on May 31.

“That’s my college teammate,” Reagor said. “We’ve been best friends. We did everything together. We bought our first car together, our first house, everything, so I just always remember he’s next to me.”

Reagor said he’s checking with the league to see if he can wear something on his uniform to honor Gladney.

“I’m trying to see if they’ll let me wear a patch or something, something on my helmet or decal,” Reagor said. “If not, I’m going to tribute him my own way.”

Even with the significant losses Reagor has dealt with, Eagles receivers coach Aaron Moorehead said the wideout is in a much better mental place than he has been in the last few seasons.

“From two years ago to last year to now, mentally, he’s in such a better space,” Moorehead said. “I think just that transition [from college], having all those targets, to maybe you only get a couple opportunities per game, he had to get used to that adjustment.”

“He’s had a nice camp so far,” Moorehead added. “He’s made plays, he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do, and he’s got to continue to challenge himself every day to be great on the field and off the field and to continue to take care of himself.”

Both Moorehead and Eagles coach Nick Sirianni have commended Reagor for reporting to camp in much better shape than he did last season. Sirianni did concede that Reagor will have to prove he’s worthy of a roster spot, though.

“He’s battling for a spot,” Sirianni said at the start of camp. “... He’s worked hard in the offseason to come back in great shape. That’s something that we all noticed in the conditioning test, how good of shape Jalen was in.”

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It’s important to note that Reagor has been mostly sure-handed throughout training camp and has flashed the explosive play ability that helped him become a first-round pick out of TCU. He hasn’t struggled with drops the way he did in the last two seasons and he has been more consistent than he was last summer.

He made a full-extension catch near the sideline during team drills on Wednesday, reeling in a bullet pass from Jalen Hurts early in the session.

Reagor said starting camp working with the second team and being on the roster bubble hasn’t discouraged him, although it’s a bit of a fall from grace. The team’s depth at wide receiver was further strengthened with the offseason acquisition of A.J. Brown.

“Personally, I love a good challenge,” he said. “It’s a humbling experience because you go from being a first-rounder to you battling, but I like challenges.”

Even if Reagor’s solid training camp hits a snag, the Eagles would have at least one reason not to cut him when the 53-man roster is set. He’d count for nearly $8 million against the salary cap this year if released. If traded, he’d count for just $3.6 million against the cap, but it’s unclear how much of a market there is for him.

For what it’s worth, Reagor said he wants to stay with the Eagles.

“I want to be here for the rest of my career,” Reagor said. “But it’s a business. It’s a business of production. I’m going to handle my end, and I’ll let them handle theirs.”

As someone who often catches the ire of fans, Reagor has previously acknowledged the drain that social media comments have had on him. During the offseason, Reagor removed all references to the Eagles on his Twitter profile.

Earlier in training camp, Reagor went to Twitter to rebut a report that he dropped a pass in camp, but he eventually deleted the tweet. When asked about the outside noise Wednesday, Reagor said he has accepted that the conversation surrounding him isn’t always going to be favorable.

“I just try not to worry about it,” Reagor said. “Everything isn’t going to be what I want it to be, but it is what it is. Everybody has a job to do.”