The 49ers’ plan to stash Trey Sermon on their practice squad will not come to pass. The Eagles intervened via a waiver claim, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter. Sermon will take the Philadelphia roster spot vacated by Wednesday’s Jalen Reagor trade.
Although Sermon flamed out quickly in San Francisco, he will head to a team that is coming off a season in which its rushing attack led the NFL. The Eagles will add the 2021 third-round pick to a backfield stable that includes Miles Sanders, Boston Scott and 2021 draftee Kenneth Gainwell.
The Eagles engaged in trade talks with the 49ers for Sermon last week, per Schefter, but nothing came to pass. San Francisco was holding one of its 16 practice squad slots for the back it traded up to land at No. 88 last year. But Sermon never quite escaped Kyle Shanahan’s doghouse. He will attempt to start over in Philly.
Sermon, who was productive at both Oklahoma and Ohio State, is going into his age-23 season. He did average 4.1 yards per carry last season, but it came on just 41 handoffs. Sixth-round rookie Elijah Mitchell leapfrogged him by Week 1 of last season, and after it appeared Sermon was going to be a major part of San Francisco’s run game, he never gained a foothold in Shanahan’s offense. Despite Mitchell battling multiple injuries last season, Sermon started just two games and cleared 35 rushing yards in just one contest.
Philadelphia pivoted to its ground game midway through last season, and the Sanders- and Jalen Hurts-driven attack ended the season atop the league in rushing yards. It might be difficult for Sermon to carve out a regular role in Philly, though Sanders and Scott are going into contract years. Sermon, who averaged north of seven yards per tote in his junior and senior seasons (albeit with limited workloads), showing enough this year could earn him a bigger role down the line.
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