Speculation in recent days has emerged that Philadelphia Eagles starting running back LeGarrette Blount may not make the 53-man roster when NFL teams make cuts after their final preseason games.

Not so, said Doug Pederson today, when asked about Blount's status with the team.

"I mean, the guy is a beast of a runner," said Pederson. I don't know what else to tell you. (He had) 18 touchdowns, 15 in the red zone, last year. That's the production. You saw yesterday the style of running that he can do.

"And the other thing is, we're not game-planning these (preseason) games, so it's really hard going into a game saying, 'This is best against this team.' We're trying to execute our plays. As coaches, we might be doing our players an injustice by putting them in bad situations. But you saw what he's done the last couple of days.

"I'm excited he's here, and he's going to be a big part of our offense."

Blount counts for $1.25 million against the Eagles' cap this season. They would incur $400,000 in dead money if they cut him. Are the Eagles really going to cut a low-cost guy who scored 18 touchdowns a year ago in favor of an undrafted rookie free agent such as Corey Clement, who had eight carries for 34 yards against third stringers in a preseason game. I mean... Really?

Now, if the Eagles were to trade for a running back who was clearly an upgrade, which is something that can never be dismissed as a possibility with Trader Howie at the helm, then we'll talk. Until then, the Eagles aren't exactly loaded with better options at the position.

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