🦅 Snagging a receiver | Sports Daily Newsletter

The Eagles clearly were in need of a third wide receiver and Howie Roseman went out and got one. The price for Jahan Dotson was far from prohibitive, as Roseman dipped into his stockpile of draft picks to make the trade with Washington on Thursday.

The lowly Commanders were willing to part with Dotson, a former first-round pick, which makes one wonder … but there was no denying the receiver’s talent when he was pulling in touchdown passes at Penn State.

What do our writers think of the move?

Here’s what columnist Marcus Hayes thinks: He is reminded of Nelson Agholor, another talented but disappointing third-year, first-round receiver, in the 2017 season. All Agholor did was catch nine passes in Super Bowl LII.

As Hayes writes, one team’s garbage might be another team’s gold.

— Jim Swan, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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The Eagles play their preseason finale Saturday against the Minnesota Vikings. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Lincoln Financial Field.

Let’s look at the 10 most important Eagles who’ll determine how this season goes.

Jalen Hurts of course is one. Lane Johnson is also right up there. At 34, he has been one of the best — if not the best — right tackles in the NFL. While he hasn’t showed signs of slowing down, appreciate him now as the clock is ticking on his career.

Next: The Eagles wrap up the preseason at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field against the Minnesota Vikings (NBC10).

Aaron Nola lived for an offseason in a van, enjoys fishing, opted for pen and paper instead of a keyboard to write a thank-you note to Philadelphia, and shows so little emotion on the mound that it was notable two seasons ago when he simply tipped his cap to the crowd. Nola is a simple man. So perhaps it makes sense that he is pitching this season in Skechers, a simple shoe more likely to be worn in the stands this week when Bruce Springsteen plays Citizens Bank Park than on the pitcher’s mound every fifth day. Says teammate Garrett Stubbs: “I think it’s fitting for Noles.”

Reliever Orion Kerkering had been feeling the effects of his first full major league season. After four days of rest, Kerkering got back to his old effective self.

The Phillies’ offense struggled again on Thursday night, managed just three hits, and lost a pivotal series against the Braves. After entering Tuesday’s series opener with a seven-game cushion, Atlanta is closing the gap on the Phillies in the NL East race.

Next: The Phillies open a series in Kansas City at 8:10 tonight (NBC 10). Taijuan Walker (3-4, 5.69 ERA) will start against Royals right-hander Michael Wacha (10-6, 3.33).

Three seasons into the Eagles girls’ flag football initiative, roughly 1,600 players have taken part on 65 teams at Eastern Pennsylvania schools. The state boasts more than 100 teams and the sport is on the cusp of being sanctioned by the PIAA. Olivia Reiner examines the rapid growth of flag football in the region and the Eagles’ deep involvement.

When the Flyers drafted Samu Tuomaala with their top pick in 2021, they were taking a swing on the Finnish forward’s elite speed and quick shooting release.

But for most of 2021-23, Tuomaala was starting to look like a bust, scoring just four goals and bouncing around on four Finnish teams. Fast forward a year and a half and Tuomaala is in a much better place. Fresh off a promising debut campaign in North America with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the 21-year-old has fallen back in love with hockey and now has his sights firmly on earning a roster spot with the Flyers.

In other Flyers news, Travis Konecny’s New Jersey home sustained significant damage in a fire earlier this week.

We asked for your Philly sports-centric photos and you continue to deliver. Here are our Philly fan photos for this week as part of our Friday lineup.

To keep this feature going, we’ll need you to keep submitting photos with a Philly sports theme. Send your photos here for the opportunity to be featured.

Here’s a place to access your favorite Philadelphia teams’ statistics, schedules, and standings in real time.

We asked you: Which NL team is the biggest threat to the Phillies and why? (“Themselves” is an acceptable answer.) Among your responses:

The Phils still have a tough road ahead with some really good teams and 15 road games in September. The Braves are still our number one threat, but right now the Phillies certainly are their own worst enemy. It is starting to look a little like 1964 again and that is a scary memory that we older fans carry. Let’s hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Oh and PS — what is Kevin Long doing to help these hitters? — Everett S.

A friend of mine, Glenn Wilson, Sr. who was a Phillies favorite and an All-Star, told me last week, when he managed in the minors, he wanted the guy who said, “I don’t take days off, sir! I’m here to play.” Guessing Rob forgot that the next day, Monday is a day off. So that’s two days off.

Can someone smarter than I explain how you can pay Harper, $330 million U.S. dollars, 13-year contract to sit on the bench when we need a hit? Realmuto signed a $115.5 million, 5-year contract. Weston Wilson signed a $770,000 contact for 1 year. That’s about a little higher than $446 million dollars in assets just sitting on the bench because they needed a couple days off. So, in my opinion, the BIGGEST threat to the Phillies is their leader, Rob Thomson. Betcha if you took a secret vote of the team, thumbs down would win going away. — Ron R.

What’s going on? Are these guys pressing? I’m old so I remember 1964. —Bill M.

The Phillies represent the greatest threat to their playoff chances. The bullpen is unreliable at best and the propensity of their relievers to walk people is frustrating and frightening, The “hitters” inability to play fundamental situational baseball, which includes moving runners and putting the ball in play with men in scoring position and less than 2 outs, is maddening. And the manager’s refusal to pinch hit for batters hitting below the Mendoza line in the 9th inning, because he wants to give players “a full day of rest,” is the definition of insanity. — Stephen T.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Olivia Reiner, EJ Smith, Marcus Hayes, Scott Lauber, Jeff Neiburg, Matt Breen, Christian Red, Gustav Elvin, Jackie Spiegel, Jonathan Tannenwald, and Avery Hill.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

That closes the book on another week of Sports Daily. We’ll be back in your inboxes on Monday. — Jim