Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA — In need of wide receivers, the Philadelphia Eagles acquired Dorial Green-Beckham from Tennessee.
The Eagles traded versatile offensive lineman Dennis Kelly to the Titans on Tuesday to get Green-Beckham, a talented player who has struggled with consistency and been sidetracked by off-field issues.
“Obviously, he’s made mistakes,” Eagles personnel boss Howie Roseman said. “He’s a kind-hearted kid and he has the right intentions. And that if you get a chance to really spend some time with him, you’ll see that. He’s not a locker room cancer at all.”
Green-Beckham wrote on Twitter: “Philly here I come! Much love to all my teammates, coaches and fans in Nashville. Thanks for everything.”
Tennessee has lost two tackles to injuries since the offseason program started, so Kelly gives them depth behind left tackle Taylor Lewan and rookie right tackle Jack Conklin.
“Dennis was a guy that we thought would help our football team, that would make us a more competitive position group up there,” Titans general manager Jon Robinson said. “He’s played three positions. He’s started 15 games in the NFL at (left) tackle, guard and right tackle. So we’re looking forward to working with him.
Green-Beckham was a second-round pick last year after he was dismissed from the team at Missouri and transferred to Oklahoma, where he didn’t play a down. He caught 32 passes for 549 yards with four touchdowns and immediately becomes one of Philadelphia’s most accomplished receivers.
“He comes in with an opportunity, no promises have been made,” Roseman said. “We felt comfortable to bring him in here to compete. He’s physically gifted. He’s 6-5, he’s 240, he runs a 4.4. He’s got a rare skill set.
“Now, there’s a reason that he’s available at this time. He’s got to get more consistent. But for us and where we are in development, we thought it was a risk worth taking.”
Titans coach Mike Mularkey acknowledged a lack of consistency had been an issue with Green-Beckham.
“I’ll say this, the inconsistency — that was there,” Mularkey said. “We had many conversations about having back-to-back-to-back days. It wasn’t like he wasn’t trying, but it never clicked in.”
The Eagles’ best receiver, Jordan Matthews, is injured. They signed former Giants second-round pick Rueben Randle in the offseason to add depth, and they also have 2015 first-round pick Nelson Agholor and 2014 third-round pick Josh Huff.
The Titans added three receivers in the offseason. Robinson signed Rishard Matthews as a free agent, drafted Tajae Sharpe in the fifth round and signed Andre Johnson at the start of camp.
Still, the move caught some Titans players by surprise.
“Nobody in the locker room was expecting it,” receiver Justin Hunter said. “They definitely sent out a message today. I definitely do (see some urgency). I feel like everybody is on the chop block. We’ve got a new GM and he didn’t draft too many people in here. Anybody can go at this point, and we’re all fighting for a spot.”
Robinson said he wasn’t necessarily intending to send a message.
“It wasn’t a statement,” Robinson said. “It was just doing what we thought was best for the team. The NFL is a business, and again, we’ve said it since January, we’re trying to put the most competitive 90-man team on the field, and we think we did that today.”
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Online:
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP—NFL
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