Nick Sirianni addresses Kenneth Gainwell’s social media spat: ‘He knows he made a mistake’

After he lost a fumble in the first half of Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders, Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell engaged with a fan over social media during halftime from the visitors’ locker room at FedEx Field.

According to a screenshot from the Instagram account phibirdsrecap, the user sent a direct message at 2:06 p.m. to Gainwell: “Hold on to the football you [bleeping] bum,” in reference to Gainwell’s fumble in the red zone that occurred during the second quarter. The Eagles trailed by 17-10 at the half.

Gainwell replied, according to the screenshot, at 2:28 p.m.: “Lil boy don’t text me.”

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On Monday afternoon, coach Nick Sirianni told reporters that he had addressed the incident with Gainwell.

“Of course we talked to Kenny about that,” Sirianni said. “These guys have some time away from us when we get into the locker room where they sit down at their locker, they do whatever is going to take their mind and just calm it.”

Halftime during an NFL game lasts 12 minutes. A large portion of that time is used by the coaching staff to meet with players to address mistakes, issue corrections and adjustments, and implement teaching points along with their second-half game plan. However, there typically are a few leftover minutes for players to receive any necessary treatment, collect themselves, and also hydrate or fuel up.

“Should he respond to someone that’s [messaging] him?” Sirianni said. “He shouldn’t respond to that guy or that girl at all. We’ve talked to him to be locked in and to be focused and not worried about outside noise. He knows he made a mistake responding back to that.”

Gainwell, who entered his third NFL season with 57 first downs over 177 career touches (32.2%), has regressed despite his uptick in usage. Appearing as the second tailback behind starter D’Andre Swift, he is averaging a career-low 3.0 yards per carry. Across 65 touches for 226 total yards this season, he has 12 first downs (18.4%).

Meanwhile, Swift has 571 rushing yards and three touchdowns, along with 28 catches, 135 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown. Across Swift’s 145 touches, he has 33 first downs (22.8%).

Gainwell, 24, was originally selected in the fifth round of the 2021 draft out of Memphis. He surged during the playoffs last season, and finished with 236 total yards and one touchdown over three postseason contests. He has developed a reputation as the team’s best blocking running back and also is the featured tailback within the hurry-up offense.