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The Eagles' practice squad rookie who played 48 unexpected snaps in NFL debut
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- The Eagles' practice squad rookie who played 48 unexpected snaps in NFL debut
The Eagles' practice squad rookie who played 48 unexpected snaps in NFL debut originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Keyshawn James-Newby likes to think he's prepared for whatever challenge he faces. Even playing 48 unexpected snaps in his first NFL game.
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"Man, you've got to prepare yourself for anything," the Eagles' rookie edge rusher said after practice Thursday. "Sunday could be my first game, and then next week could be my last. You just never know. So just preparing yourself mentally for that process and just making sure you're always ready."
With Jalyx Hunt out as he dealt with knee and ankle injuries and A.J. Epenesa inactive with a sore back, the plan was for James-Newby to play a handful of snaps. But when Nolan Smith suffered a concussion and Jonathan Greenard's ankle started giving him trouble, the Eagles were down to just James-Newby and Arnold Ebiketie on the edge.
Imagine going from never playing in the NFL to playing 48 snaps? That just doesn't happen. Especially for a 7th-rounder on the practice squad.
James-Newby's 48 snaps are the most by an Eagles defensive player off the bench in his NFL debut as far back as Stathead tracks snaps, which is 2012. And the most on record by a rookie 7th-round pick in his first career game.
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"I was trying to bring energy from the sideline," Hunt said. "You can't really do too much. And then I felt terrible because Keyshawn, Keyshawn's debut, man, 45 plays? Most of the second half, no break. And then I think Arnold Ebuketi, A.K., you played 72? Seventy-two plays in the league is not very common. So I felt bad putting that workload on them. And thank God I'm in a great world where everybody's just a dog. But it felt real bad not being able to contribute and help the team out."
James-Newby has been on the practice squad all year and was a game-day elevation Sunday.
He had two tackles, two hurries and no major gaffes in the Eagles' 25-14 loss to the Panthers
"I think Keyshawn did very well for his first play, for his first game, especially when you think you're probably going to be a rotational guy, maybe 18 plays max," Hunt said. "Super proud of him, got a little banged up and still played through it. So I think he did a great job."
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James-Newby hadn't played at all since the preseason, so it was crazy to see him out there playing so many snaps.
But he said he was mentally and physically ready.
"If I don't feel physically ready for it, then I'm already losing part of the battle," he said. "So I had to mentally prepare myself and also physically always be prepared. So I always was. You never know what's going to happen. So you always have to be mentally prepared for anything. I was ready."
Vic Fangio has been a big fan of James-Newby, and he appreciated the way he handled an unexpected workload in his first game.
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"We were planning on playing Keyshawn a little bit in the game, but then when Nolan went down and J.G.'s ankle started bothering him, he went from a handful to close to 50," Fangio said.
"He's a pretty good athlete. He's got some speed to him. I think he'll even do better now that he's got his feet wet more than he expected or we expected. I do like him, and I think hopefully we'll see steady progress from him the more he gets to play."
James-Newby spoke highly of all the veterans in that edge rusher room and gave them a lot of credit for making sure he was prepared on Sunday.
"They make sure to let you know always be prepared and make sure you're always ready at any possible time," he said. "Nolan, Jalyx, Jonathan, A.J., all those guys, you know, A.K., all those guys, they take me under their wing and teach me the way. So I appreciate all those guys for that."
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James-Newby is one of only four 7th-round picks to get into a game this year for the Eagles, along with Jordan Mailata, Moro Ojomo and Cole Wisniewski.
He said he doesn't look at himself any differently because of where he was drafted and what he's had to go through to get on the field, including getting released after training camp.
"Whether you're 1st– or 7th-(round) or free agent, everyone has odds to beat," he said. "So it doesn't really matter where you're at. I don't really look at it like that. You know, I just take it kind of by the day. I can't look in the future. I can't look in the past. And I just got to continue moving forward."
