Seumalo Among Eagles Impacted By Graduation Rule

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Every year, a portion of the rookie class is impacted by the highly-opposed graduation rule, which does not allow a player to take part in team activities until their school’s academic year is complete. Three Eagles are among those affected this time around.

The most notable is third-round pick Isaac Seumalo of Oregon State, which operates on a quarter-term system. He will be allowed to participate in this weekend’s rookie camp, but will miss the remainder of the spring activities and will not be on the field again with the team until training camp. The same applies to Stanford defensive tackle Aziz Shittu and Oregon running back Byron Marshall, per the Eagles. (Fellow Duck Joe Walker already graduated, so he’s good to go.)

Texas wide receiver Marcus Johnson will miss just a day or two because of the rule before being permitted to return on May 18.

Zach Ertz, Ed Reynolds, Jordan Poyer and Kurt Coleman are among the Eagles that were once on the wrong end of this rule, which strips select incomers of valuable learning time as they attempt to transition to the pro game.

For Seumalo, it presents an extra obstacle as he competes for the starting left guard spot with the likes of Allen Barbre and Stefen Wisniewski.

In the case of Carson Wentz, the QB was just a little delayed. Much of the rookie class has been working alongside the veterans at the NovaCare this week. Because of the graduation rule, the North Dakota State product was not allowed to fly in until today. Once in Philly, Wentz is expected to sign his rookie deal, per Ed Werder.

This year’s rookie minicamp runs from May 13-15.