Eagles start Carroll for Fletcher in finale
They finally did it -- a little late. Corner Nolan Carroll will start in place of Bradley Fletcher today at cornerback, with battered Bradley Fletcher suffering from a hip problem.
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ --- Just a little bit too late for it to matter, the Eagles decided to start Nolan Carroll ahead of Bradley Fletcher at corner.
It's unclear if the change has to do with Fletcher's abysmal play the past several weeks, or if it is mainly because of the hip injury he accrued on the team's injury report this past week. Since Fletcher is inactive, the hip probably is a factor. But at least Eagles coach Chip Kelly, who eschewed resting starters to get a better look at younger players for this meaningless finale against the Giants, can see how Carroll looks manning an outside post against really good receivers, including rookie phenom Odell Beckham, Jr..
Carroll has been a quasi-linebacker in the Eagles' dime package this season, and defensive coordinator Bill Davis has been reluctant to move him from that spot.
Otherwise, today's Eagles inactives are as expected: QB Nick Foles, S Jerome Couplin, OL Julian Vandervelde and Dennis Kelly, WR Jeff Maehl and DE Taylor Hart, the fifth-round draftee who was inactive for every game this season.
Fourth-round corner-safety Jaylen Watkins is active, because Fletcher is not in what presumably is his final game as an Eagle. Fletcher will be a free agent in the spring.
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