In a Philadelphia Eagles offense full of secrets, having Miles Austin as your secret weapon might seem a little strange.
But the 30-year-old veteran's name kept coming up during offseason workouts. Yes, head coach Chip Kelly has a cadre of young, talented wideouts like Jordan Matthews, Josh Huff and Nelson Agholor. He also has someone who is willing to coach on the field.
"He's a big target," Kelly said this week via CSN Philly. "He's got really, really good range. Catches the ball extremely well. Intelligent. Kind of knows the subtleties of the exact route running, kind of exactly where to maybe place his elbow to get separation in terms of pushing off the hip and things like that.
"And he's imparted that on the younger guys, which I think has really helped us to have that true veteran route runner in there, and I think he's been really good at doing that."
Kelly has made headlines this offseason for piling up on injured stars. Austin, who has not played in 16 games since 2012, also the last time he caught more than 50 passes in a season, is no exception. His kidney issue and repeated hamstring problems were enough of a red flag when he hit the free agency market this past winter.
Kelly, though, has also made headlines for thinking independently. And for now, he sounds like a coach pleased with getting Austin for a basic $1 million guarantee.
The latest Around The NFL Podcast discusses the latest Top 100 rankings and Chris Wesseling takes on contestants in Win Wess' Toaster! Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
