Eagles Deny ‘Altercation’ with Guice

PHILADELPHIA (973espn.com) - One of the reasons talented LSU running back Derrius Guice fell out of the first round of the NFL Draft and nearly the second was the way he related to more than one team during the pre-draft process, an NFL source confirms to 973espn.com.

According to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, one of those teams was the Eagles, who believed Guice was talented enough to be in the conversation at No. 32 overall. However, Rapoport reported that Guice actually got in a shouting match with Philadelphia officials during a pre-draft visit.

Rapoport added that a source told him that the Eagles regarded the visit as the worst meeting they ever had with a prospect.

Guice, who ultimately was taken No. 59 overall by the Washington Redskins, has denied there was an incident with the Eagles and 'Skins coach Jay Gruden said he was unaware of the alleged issue.

Eagles executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman agreed with the Redskins' take Saturday.

"There was no altercation here in this building that any of us are aware of," Roseman insisted. "I don't know where that report came from, but I can speak for everyone in here that nothing like that happened here in Philadelphia."

When pressed if that was semantics and the shouting match could have been elsewhere, Roseman went on the defensive.

"There was no altercation,” he insisted. "When you hear the word ‘altercation’, it sounds like fisticuffs or something. Like fisticuffs or yelling and screaming. I don't know that I've ever been in a room where a player has yelled at anyone."

Roseman then looked toward head coach Doug Pederson: "19 years in the National Football League -- have you ever been in a room where a player just yells and screams in 23 years? Anytime has that ever happened?"

“I didn’t hear of anything,” Pederson said.

The rumor seems to have emanated from former Eagles running back Brian Westbrook on a local radio station.

“Sometimes you can’t believe everything you read or hear,” Roseman said. “That would be my message of the day.”

What is true and is that Guice had some poor visits with many around the league pointing at immaturity.

-John McMullen covers the Eagles and the NFL for 973espn.com. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen