Former Eagles receiver Jordan Matthews is attempting a comeback in the NFL.
As a tight end.
Matthews was a guest on Talking With TD, a podcast hosted by ESPN’s Turron Davenport and revealed that he’s been working at the University of Louisville in an attempt to get signed by an NFL team at a new position.
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“The phone lines weren’t ringing at wide receiver,” Matthews said. “So it’s like if you can’t give me a way there, I’ve got to make a way.”
Matthews, 28, has been living in Louisville because his wife Cheyna Matthews plays for Racing Louisville of the National Women’s Soccer League. So Jordan contacted former Eagles receivers coach Gunter Brewer, who now holds that position at Louisville, and Matthews been working out there recently in an attempt to get signed as an NFL tight end.
Heck, if Tim Tebow can do it, why can’t Matthews?
While he has been listed at 6-3, 215 pounds, Matthews says he’s already up to 230 and is getting closer to his goal of 235 by eating six meals per day and constantly working out.
NFL
“Once I hit that 235 mark, we’re going to try our best just to get some workouts and I’m going down that path,” Matthews said. “At the end of the day, most of those guys who are that H/F hybrid, you’re blocking inside, that’s stuff that I’ve done before. And then when it comes to the route tree, where are you running most of your routes? Where I do my best work is inside.”
The Eagles drafted Matthews with the No. 42 pick in the 2014 draft and he immediately made a huge impact. In his first three years in the NFL, Matthews caught 225 passes for 2,673 yards and 19 touchdowns. He has the third-most receiving yards in Eagles history for a player in his first three seasons.
But the Eagles traded Matthews to Buffalo in the summer before the 2017 season and his career has never been the same since. He was then with the Patriots in 2018 but got hurt and eventually returned to Philly and has since bounced around between Philadelphia and San Francisco. Right now, he’s a free agent.
And after watching the 2021 draft, Matthews decided his best bet to stay in the NFL was a position change.
“I watched this last draft and I see DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, Ja’Marr Chase, Kadarius Toney, (Rashod) Bateman, Elijah Moore, none of these guys are taller than 6-1 and they’re all ballers and they’re all going to be looked at as possibly No. 1 on their team,” Matthews said. “So you know where I’m going with this, man, I’m like the game’s changing, it’s shifting away from you having a ton of big receivers. … So I’m watching this and I called my agent and said we might have to make a shift. That’s what I did.”
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