The Eagles Announce Their Captains For The 2020 NFL Season

On Wednesday, the Eagles announced their Team Captains for the 2020 NFL season and the group is a blend of different players from a variety of positions, a total of eight players will serve in the distinguished leadership roles this season.

The Eagles Offensive Captains will be Quarterback Carson Wentz, Left Tackle Jason Peters, and Center Jason Kelce.  The 2020 season marks Peters 12th season in an Eagles uniform while the Three-Time All-Pro Center Jason Kelce has started all 16 games in a season for Philadelphia for five straight seasons.

"It's a little bit of a different approach this year," Doug Pederson said on Wednesday morning shortly after informing the players at the daily team meeting. "It is important to me to select players who are great leaders, who are going to be captains all year. I felt like these gentlemen represented what we're looking for in the way they've worked so hard and led the way for the team on and off the field. It's a group I'm proud to call our captains for the season."

On Defense, the Eagles have named as their Captains Defensive Linemen Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham along with Safety Rodney McLeod.  Under Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz, Cox and Graham have combined for 139 Quarterback Hits along with 84 Tackles For Loss over the last four years.  McLeod is entering his fifth season with the Eagles and is expected to fill the leadership void in the team's Secondary with no Malcolm Jenkins playing in Philadelphia this year.

The Special Teams Captains are Linebacker Duke Riley and Cornerback Craig James, two players who earned their roster spots thanks to their versatility.  Riley was acquired by the Eagles in a trade with the Falcons last October and finished the season fourth on the team in Special Teams Snaps Played.  James has earned himself a place on the roster thanks to a strong Training Camp, as he is now the backup Cornerback behind Darius Slay.

"Craig (James) is a nice young player for us who came on last year," Pederson said. "He really has put himself in a position to not only help on special teams, but on defense this season. - (Duke Riley is) the leader of that group. Fipp relies on him each and every week. Duke is a rotational starter on defense at linebacker and he's really has come a long way. He's the guy who brings energy to the special teams."

On Gameday, the protocols will be different for 2020 season: The eight team captains will leave the Eagles' sideline together to walk toward the middle of the field, yet only one player from each team will be permitted to take part in the coin toss for pregame. Doug Pederson says the other seven players will stay around the numbers on the field as a group.

"It's different, like everything else, but you have to adjust and adapt," Pederson said. "What's important is that these are our eight captains and I think it's a great group."