Wide Receiver

THE SOUL has taken another hit to the wide-receiving corps after veteran Larry Brackins was placed on injured reserve with a strained left hamstring. Brackins, the last remaining player from the 2008 championship team, was injured in last Saturday's win over San Jose and will miss a minimum of three games. Star wide receiver Donovan Morgan already is out until at least May with a fractured left wrist. Given the vertical nature of arena football, having problems at wide receiver is like driving a car on the expressway with three doughnut tires.

TAMPA - First, there was the one-handed, backward, sideline snatch for 20 yards that set up the the Eagles' field goal midway through the second quarter. Second, there was the 39-yard balletic expression that set up the Eagles' first touchdown later in the same quarter. Finally, there was the 22-yarder down the middle on fourth-and-5. That will be the one of the seven catches Jason Avant is remembered for in Sunday's 23-21 win. The play began at the Bucs' 23, the Eagles trailing by five.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The Eagles have lost 12 games for only the third time in franchise history, and Andy Reid is expected to pay the price for that failure Monday by being fired. But after Sunday's ugly, 42-7, season-ending loss to the Giants, veteran wide receiver Jason Avant said the problem with the Eagles is not the head coach. It's the players. "It's not a coach Reid thing," Avant said. "It's a player-personality and character problem. I'm talking about guys [not]

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Wide receiver Ron Johnson suffered a gruesome ankle dislocation during Monday afternoon's practice at Eagles training camp. As Johnson lay on the ground with his leg in the air, he tried to put his foot back into place. "He tried to reduce it himself, and it wouldn't stay in," Eagles trainer Rick Burkholder said. "Dr. Peter DeLuca was with us on the field. He tried to reduce it on the field, and it wouldn't stay in, and the reason it wouldn't stay in, we think, was there was a fracture on the outside.

Six South Jersey players, three on offense and three on defense, were named yesterday to the Associated Press first-team all-state football squad. The offensive selections were running back Doug Easlick of Cherokee, wide receiver Isaac Irby of Holy Cross, and offensive lineman Ed Tyler of Delsea. The defensive first-teamers included linebacker Jamison Young of South Jersey Group 4 champion Overbrook, lineman Jason Jamison of Millville, and defensive back Cory Collins of Egg Harbor Township.

Between four and seven enshrinees will be announced Feb. 4, the day before the Super Bowl. Bill Parcells, coach Tim Brown, wide receiver Cris Carter, wide receiver Andre Reed, wide receiver Jerome Bettis, running back Curtis Martin, running back Will Shields, offensive lineman Aeneas Williams, defensive back ...

A month after taking part in the NFL's scouting combine, Temple running back Montel Harris had another chance to impress scouts on Thursday afternoon at Owls pro day at Edberg-Olson Hall. Harris, who transferred to Temple from Boston College before last season, rushed for 1,054 yards and scored 12 touchdowns as a senior. He is considered a mid-round pick in the draft. Scouts from 17 NFL teams were on hand. Harris was joined at the pro day by running back Matt Brown, defensive backs Vaughn Carraway and Maurice Jones, defensive linemen Marcus Green and John Youboty, kicker Brandon McManus, wide receiver Darryl Shine, linebacker Ahkeem Smith, and offensive lineman Martin Wallace.

THERE IS MORE to the Eagles' depth chart at wide receiver than DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. The current roster has 12 wide receivers, with each one thinking he can contribute in one way or another. Seven of them are at Eagles camp for the first time. "I think everybody is doing a really good job learning the offense and doing well, so I think we do," wide receiver Jason Avant said of whether the team has a surplus of valuable receivers. Arguably the most intriguing addition to the class is wide receiver Ifeanyi Momah.

The Soul will be shorthanded for Saturday's visit to Georgia. Star wide receiver Donovan Morgan fractured his left wrist in Sunday's loss to Cleveland and will be out 4 to 6 weeks, according to Soul GM Tom Goodhines. Reserve wide receiver Emory Sammons will be activated for the first time this season, and veteran Larry Brackins will see more playing time to compensate for Morgan's absence. Morgan leads the team with 23 catches and eight touchdowns, and is widely considered the face of the franchise.

Academy Park senior Mark Doe, a fleet wide receiver and defensive back, has committed to play football at the University of Delaware. Doe, 17, of Collingdale, is projected to play wide receiver for the Blue Hens. He has been clocked at 4.56 seconds in the 40-yard dash. "Delaware is a great school, it has a winning program, and it's not too far from home," the 5-foot-9, 160-pounder said. Doe also received interest from Monmouth, Old Dominion, and Villanova.   Contact staff writer Rick O'Brien at 610-313-8019 or robrien@phillynews.com .

THIS WAS GOING to be a column about DeSean Jackson learning a new offense under coach Chip Kelly and maybe, just maybe, finding a way to unlock what can be a devastating skill set with a little more regularity. It still is going to be about that, too - after a short detour. Because here is the thing: I could not care less about the identity of Jackson's agent. When word broke the other day that he was firing Drew Rosenhaus and maybe signing on with Jay-Z, my only reaction was to click on the next story as soon as humanly possible.

THERE IS MORE to the Eagles' depth chart at wide receiver than DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. The current roster has 12 wide receivers, with each one thinking he can contribute in one way or another. Seven of them are at Eagles camp for the first time. "I think everybody is doing a really good job learning the offense and doing well, so I think we do," wide receiver Jason Avant said of whether the team has a surplus of valuable receivers. Arguably the most intriguing addition to the class is wide receiver Ifeanyi Momah.

Part Two of a Series The Eagles are amid their first organized team activities this week, and they will practice throughout the next four weeks. After those practices, Chip Kelly will have a better idea of the Eagles roster. But there's a lot that will happen between now and then. To get you up to date, The Inquirer is spending two weeks assessing where the Eagles stand at each spot. Jeff McLane started on Monday with offensive line. Here are wide receivers: Projected current first team WR1: Jeremy Maclin (6-foot-0, 198 pounds, age 25, 5th season)

FOR THE 12TH straight year, NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock will break down each of the positions in the draft for the Daily News , providing his assessment of the best player at each position, as well as his top riser and sleeper. Mayock, 54, resides in Newtown Square and is a graduate of the Haverford School. A former safety, he was a 10th-round pick of the Steelers in 1981 and played two seasons with the Giants (1982-83). RUNNING BACKS THE BEST Name: Eddie Lacy School: Alabama Height, weight: 5-11, 231 40 time: 4.53 225 bench: NA Round projection: 1 Mayock: "I see a 230-pound tailback that can carry the ball 20 times a game.

The Eagles signed 6-foot-7, 239-pound wide receiver Ifeanyi Momah, who last played football at Boston College in September 2011. Momah suffered a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the season opener and considered giving up football after he was denied a sixth year of eligibility. Momah was recently clocked running the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds, a time that likely caught the Eagles' attention along with the 23-year-old's impressive size. He caught 39 passes for 629 yards and six touchdowns at Boston College.

CHIP KELLY has been intentionally vague about his plans for the guys on his roster for a couple of reasons. One is that he's a football coach, and football coaches like to be intentionally vague. The other is that, until next Monday, when the league's collective bargaining agreement finally allows Kelly to talk X's-and-O's with his new players, the only thing he has been able to say to them is get plenty of sleep and keep eating your Wheaties. As we go along here in the next several months, we'll start to find out about the specifics of Kelly's offense and defense, and who fits in where and who doesn't fit in at all. One guy whose role I'm definitely eager to find out about is DeSean Jackson's.

A month after taking part in the NFL's scouting combine, Temple running back Montel Harris had another chance to impress scouts on Thursday afternoon at Owls pro day at Edberg-Olson Hall. Harris, who transferred to Temple from Boston College before last season, rushed for 1,054 yards and scored 12 touchdowns as a senior. He is considered a mid-round pick in the draft. Scouts from 17 NFL teams were on hand. Harris was joined at the pro day by running back Matt Brown, defensive backs Vaughn Carraway and Maurice Jones, defensive linemen Marcus Green and John Youboty, kicker Brandon McManus, wide receiver Darryl Shine, linebacker Ahkeem Smith, and offensive lineman Martin Wallace.

BRIAN URLACHER doesn't believe the Chicago Bears' front office was being sincere when it said that it wanted him to re-sign with the team. The Bears announced Wednesday they were unable to come to a free-agent deal with Urlacher and were moving on without one of the greatest linebackers in franchise history. Urlacher told "Mike & Mike in the Morning" on ESPN Radio that he tried to stay out of the negotiations, "but it was hard for me to stay out of that, because it got a little personal there at the end, just because I think I have so much passion for the team.

The Denver Broncos capped a huge day for the franchise by confirming late Wednesday night that they had signed former Eagles cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, a free agent, to a one-year, $5 million deal. The move came a few hours after the Broncos grabbed wide receiver Wes Welker away from the New England Patriots. Rodgers-Cromartie spent the last two seasons with the Eagles, but struggled. A Pro Bowler in 2009, he has 16 interceptions in 77 career games. After spending six years with Tom Brady in New England, Pro Bowl receiver Welker agreed to a two-year, $12 million deal to team up with Peyton Manning in Denver.

The San Francisco 49ers have acquired wide receiver Anquan Boldin from the Baltimore Ravens for a sixth-round draft pick. Boldin, a star in Baltimore's run to the Super Bowl title last season, must pass a physical to complete the deal. The Ravens announced the trade Monday. Boldin had six catches for 104 yards and a touchdown in the Ravens' 34-31 Super Bowl victory over the 49ers. The 32-year-old Boldin had said he'd consider retirement rather than leave Baltimore. But going to the NFC champions might change his mind.