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Wendell Smallwood and Josh Adams nearing their end with the Eagles following preseason finale | Jeff McLane

The Eagles haven’t kept five running backs for quite some time, and it looks like the first four are set.

Running back Wendell Smallwood ran for 23 yards in what might have been his last game as an Eagle Thursday night.
Running back Wendell Smallwood ran for 23 yards in what might have been his last game as an Eagle Thursday night.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Wendell Smallwood’s tenure with the Eagles may have been all but over by the time the football squirted out of his hands. But if there was even the thinnest of chances that he would make the 53-man roster, the running back’s fumble Thursday night didn’t help his cause.

Smallwood was one of the few Eagles veterans to play in the preseason finale against the New York Jets, a 6-0 loss, which by industry standards meant that he wasn’t just auditioning for the Eagles. His first-quarter fumble won’t compel the other 31 NFL teams to seek a trade, or even claim him off waivers, but Smallwood has an accomplished enough resume to end up on somebody’s roster.

“Wendell’s a player we know and we got a lot of history with him,” Eagles coach Doug Pederson said. “Unfortunate, my gosh, the one run tonight. … Wendell’s a guy that we understand. We kind of know him. … He’s right in the mix.”

The numbers in Philadelphia, however, aren’t in his favor. The Eagles haven’t kept five running backs for quite some time. Even if they were to this year, Josh Adams could get the nod ahead of Smallwood, who wasn’t in the visitors’ locker room at MetLife Field when it opened for reporters after the game.

The Eagles made a concerted effort to upgrade the position this offseason, even if the first few weeks produced some sweaty-palm moments for fans. Jordan Howard was acquired in a March trade, and Miles Sanders was drafted a month later in the second round.

That left two open spots, and at least one if Corey Clement made a full recovery from December knee surgery. But the Eagles brought back the 36-year-old Darren Sproles, partly because of his punt-return abilities, and Smallwood and Adams were seemingly on the wrong side of the roster bubble.

Smallwood didn’t necessarily have a poor training camp. He always runs hard, with his straight-ahead style being a strength. But his lack of explosiveness and lateral agility has long been a weakness, and it was evident again against the Jets.

On the Eagles’ second possession, Smallwood scooted ahead up the middle for 18 yards. If it were the regular season, it would have been his longest tote in nearly two years. On the next play, he ran into a wall and gained only 2 yards.

Pederson called his number again for a third straight carry, but as Smallwood hit the gut, linebacker Blake Cashman came in unblocked and popped the ball loose. To his credit, Smallwood got up and chased linebacker Frankie Luvu, after he recovered the fumble, to the sideline.

“We had a trap inside and the backer made a tackle on the ball and it came out,” Pederson said.

But the turnover felt like a symbol for his imminent departure. Smallwood would log one more rush, but he was met in the backfield by two defenders and dropped for a loss. All told, he finished the preseason with 14 carries for 40 yards (2.9 average) and three catches for 7 yards.

Just as uninspiring were Adams’ numbers. The Central Bucks South product rushed 17 times for 27 yards (1.6 avg.) and caught 13 passes for 50 yards in the preseason. It often seemed as if both running backs were sinking in sand, although rushing behind offensive linemen who may not be on NFL rosters in a week didn’t help.

Adams and Smallwood led the Eagles in rushing last season, after all. Injuries to Jay Ajayi, Sproles, and Clement factored into their increased roles. But they’re capable enough ballcarriers and should find homes elsewhere.

“I don’t really pay attention to numbers,” Adams said. “Just try and go out there and be special, try to do something different or add on to whatever it is I did last year.”

Adams’ could be in North Jersey. Former Eagles executive Joe Douglas is the Jets’ general manager, and he made the call when Adams was signed as an undrafted rookie last year. Eagles GM Howie Roseman will attempt to trade several commodities before Saturday’s deadline, but roster bubble running backs aren’t exactly prime bait.

Douglas is also fourth on the waiver wire, so he will likely bide his time for any potential Eagles castoff he covets.

Smallwood was selected in the fifth round of the 2016 draft, a month before Douglas was hired. He arrived under a cloud after years-old tweets in which he disparaged Philly and gays were unearthed. But he kept his nose clean for three-plus years.

He had a promising rookie campaign. But injuries would come to define his first two years. He later admitted that he took too many shortcuts in terms of his training. Smallwood had a particularly costly fumble as a rookie, but he had only one turnover over the next two seasons.

Some had questioned whether Smallwood would make the team last year, but Pederson considered him one of his guys. He performed well after Ajayi’s season-ending knee injury. He caught passes of 34, 23, and 36 yards — the last for a touchdown — through the first eight games.

But blocking remained a problem, and he failed to break off explosive runs even though he often ran into light boxes. Smallwood’s longest rush was for only 15 yards.

Adams was more successful down the field. He had 15-plus-yard rushes during one six-game stretch. But a nagging shoulder injury limited his effectiveness late in the season and Smallwood was once again back in the saddle in the postseason.

He was ineffective and gained only 53 yards on 18 carries (2.9 avg.) in two playoff games. Adams had some productive moments early in camp this summer, but some of his deficiencies — receiving, blocking, and turning his hips — were only magnified in the preseason.

Maybe Smallwood or Adams sneaks on the roster, but they may hope for otherwise. The Eagles have the past (Sproles), present (Howard), and future (Sanders), and that doesn’t bode well for any playing time.