Nelson Agholor called out his Raiders teammates in a wild post-game locker-room outburst last month, according to a story in The Athletic.
Agholor may not be an Eagle anymore, but the story shows just how much Agholor’s experience in Philadelphia shaped what kind of person and what kind of teammate he is now.
Vic Tafur, who covers the Raiders for The Athletic, wrote about Nelly’s reaction after the Raiders blew a 4th-quarter lead against the Dolphins in Week 16, allowing Miami to score three times in the game’s last four minutes.
That was the Raiders’ fifth loss in six games after a 6-3 start and fourth straight home loss. It dropped them to 7-8 and eliminated them from postseason contention.
According to Tafur, Agholor addressed his teammates in the locker room before coach Jon Gruden had a chance to speak and told them they were selfish and that “they sucked,” according to Tafur:
“Agholor, according to those in the room, said his teammates were selfish and didn’t work hard enough, and that they had quit against the Dolphins as well as in the previous two losses. He said there was no accountability in the locker room, and on winning teams players play for one another and the coaches. The Raiders’ performance over the previous six games was unacceptable, and too many people within the team were just flat-out accepting it. Agholor told his teammates that they sucked.”
According to Tafur, nobody else said a word after Agholor spoke and even Gruden didn’t speak.
Tafur said he asked Gruden about the incident Thursday night, and Gruden texted him back simply, “I love Agholor.”
Agholor, the Eagles’ 1st-round pick in 2015, spent his first five seasons in Philadelphia and although he underachieved for the most part, he caught 9 passes for 84 yards in the Eagles’ Super Bowl win over the Patriots after the 2017 season and had three 1st-down receptions from Nick Foles on the game-winning 4th-quarter drive.
Agholor signed a one-year minimum-wage deal with the Raiders last offseason and caught 48 passes for a career-high 896 yards with eight touchdowns.
But the Raiders finished out of the postseason for the 3rd straight season under Gruden and 4th straight season overall.
The Raiders haven’t won a playoff game since 2002, when their coach was Bill Callahan, who was on Ray Rhodes’ Eagles staff with Gruden from 1995 through 1997.
Agholor is a free agent once again this offseason. Whether he returns to the Raiders remains to be seen, but the story certainly tells you a lot about Agholor, who’s had an up-and-down career but has always been about the team first wherever he’s been.
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