If the NFL season began today, the Eagles would be rolling out Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, Corey Clement, and Elijah Holyfield at the running back position.

They could use some ‘oomph’ there, in the form of a veteran back who can give you something between the tackles.

Enter Adam Caplan of the very good Inside the Birds podcast, who says the Eagles are interested in free agent ball carrier Carlos Hyde.

He’s a solid player and would be a very nice fit here. A couple of notes:

  • He turns 30 in September but only has 1,072 career carries. Last year he actually had his career high in rushing attempts, with 245 for 1,070 yards for the Texans. There’s definitely something left in the tank.
  • Obviously he won’t carry the ball that many times if he comes to Philly, but working via committee could extend his career further. For what it’s worth, the Birds had just started giving Jordan Howard more carries right before he got injured.
  • Pretty angry runner. He’s plays around 225-235 pounds and continues through contact for extra yards. That’s something the Birds could really use.
  • He’s a good pass catcher. Didn’t do much in this area last year, but from 2016 to 2017 in San Francisco he caught 86 of 121 targets for 513 yards and three touchdowns.
  • Above-average in pass protection.

Hyde has bounced around a lot in recent years, playing for five teams dating back to 2017. He reportedly had an offer to stay with the Texans but decided to hit free agency instead. As such, perhaps the Eagles could lure him to town by talking up their culture and convincing him that he could win games here. The only question is how much money he’s looking for, since he’s made relatively little over the course of his career, compared to other starting-caliber running backs.