Jay Ajayi was the workhorse back in Miami, but it could be at least another two weeks before he earns that honor with his new team.
Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson told reporters Friday he still hasn't made a determination on whether or not Ajayi, a player the Eaglesacquired via a trade with the Dolphins on Tuesday, will play on Sunday against the Denver Broncos.
"I got to get through today," Pederson said on when he'd decide if Ajayi is fit to play. "It was a big day. Red zone, obviously, is a lot of things, moving parts down there. So I want to make sure we get through today first before I make that decision."
Even if Ajayi suits up this weekend, Pederson made it fairly clear not to expect too big of a workload for the tailback. The head coach said he's given Ajayi just a "limited" portion of the offense, featuring just "10 to 15 plays" to focus on for now.
"He's done a nice job," Pederson said. "He's a smart guy. He comes from an offense that uses very similar terminology, so he's familiar with that. He's picked it up, he's had some extra meetings with [running backs coach] Duce [Staley] this week, so we're trying to get him up to speed as fast as he can and we can and he's done a nice job."
With the Eagles' bye scheduled for next week, it makes sense for Pederson to not rush the new running back into anything. By the time Week 11 rolls around, Ajayi will have a full two weeks in the system. That should allow the Eagles to take the training wheels off when Philadelphia returns from the bye to take on the Dallas Cowboys in a huge NFC East showdown on Sunday Night Football.
