While the Eagles enjoyed their visit to the White House on Monday, fans noticed that many of the key players from the team’s Super Bowl run were not there to meet with President Donald Trump.
Star running back Saquon Barkley, offensive lineman Lane Johnson and head coach Nick Sirianni were among those in attendance, as well as owner Jeffrey Lurie and chief security officer and senior advisor to the GM ‘Big’ Dom DiSandro.
However, quarterback Jalen Hurts, receivers AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith and linebacker Zack Baun were absent. Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Brandon Graham (who has since retired), Nolan Smith Jr., Nakobe Dean, CJ Gardner Johnson (who is now on the Texans), Darius Slay (who is now on the Steelers) and Quinyon Mitchell were reportedly absent as well.
Notably, Mekhi Becton – who signed with the Chargers this offseason – wasin attendance.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Eagles for confirmation of which players were in attendance, though NBC Sports’ John Clarksaid that less than half of the team’s starters were there.
Regardless of the exact tally of Eagles who attended – which included a healthy amount of coaches and front office personnel – fans noticed that a significant portion of the team’s players were missing.
Fans noticed that a large amount of Eagles players were missing from the White House visit
Coach Nick Sirianni was among those in attendance as he shook hands with President Trump
Saquon Barkley was pictured stood next to Trump after arriving at the White House on Sunday
‘Looks like there are more coaches/staff than players lol,’ onesaid on X.
‘It’s crazy most of the eagles roster ain’t there the inactives have prime real estate i can see everybody was inactive most of the season,’ a second fan pointed out.
‘Shoutout to all that didn’t show up. This is like 1/4 of a team lmao,’ a third added.
And a fourth said, ‘Very disappointed. Poor showing. Way to create a distraction and resentment from your fan base. Support your teammates regardless of politics. This drives a wedge.’
While Hurts snubbed the White House visit over a ‘scheduling conflict,’ according to NBC News’s Yamiche Alcindor, Trump took the high road as he called the quarterback a ‘terrific guy’ while speaking on Monday.
‘Complementing Saquon’s historic season was an incredible year for a star quarterback Jalen Hurts,’ Trump told the crowd at the White House on Monday.
‘He really played, he had a great season and a great game. Finished with 32 [combined passing and rushing] touchdowns on the year, turning in one stellar performance after another, terrific guy.’
Barkley spent time with President Trump over the weekend, as the pair golfed together
Trump held up an Eagles helmet on Monday with the word ‘MAGA’ written on it
Hurts had previously hinted that he wouldn’t be attending during aninterview with TIME, as he provided an awkward non-answer when asked if he would be going to DC.
‘Ermmmm,’ the Super Bowl MVP said before staying silent, prompting an abrupt end to the interview.
His teammate Barkley, meanwhile, spent time with President Trump even before his team’s visit, as they golfed at his Trump National golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey and rode Marine One together.
Barkley was criticized by some fans for spending time with the president but shot back at his critics on Monday.
‘Lol some people are really upset cause I played golfed and flew to the White House with the PRESIDENT,’ Barkley wrote on X.
‘Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to understand. Just golfed with Obama not too long ago…and look forward to finishing my round with Trump!
‘Now ya get out my mentions with all this politics and have amazing day.’
Barkley and Eagles GM Howie Roseman smiled as Trump gestured towards them
The Eagles’ seemingly sparse visit to the White House comes after the team did not make the trip after winning Super Bowl LII 2018.
That time, after defeating the Patriots, it had emerged that only a handful of players were planning to attend. Trump, then in his first term as president, proceeded to cancel the visit.
The Eagles’ apparent hesitancy to attend in that instance came after Trump took aim at players who had protested during the national anthem, a group of players which included Eagles Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod.
At a 2017 rally, Trump said that protests during the national anthem were ‘hurting the game,’ and said NFL owners should fire players who did so.
During the past NFL season, Trump enjoyed a more positive relationship with the league’s players as the likes of Brock Bowers, Calvin Ridley and Nick Bosa did the ‘Trump dance‘ during games.
49ers star Bosa even wore a MAGA hat after one game while on television, which earned him a fine from the league for displaying a political message.