Because of the arrival of Pope Francis to the city of Philadelphia this weekend, and the expected traffic delays that will occur leading up to the historic visit, the Eagles (0-2) will reportedly depart the city early in preparation for this Sunday's matchup against the New York Jets (2-0) in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
In his Wednesday morning press conference, Eagles head coach Chip Kelly announced that the team will leave Thursday, two days ahead of Pope Francis' expected arrival, to practice Friday and Saturday at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey.
Chip Kelly said that the #Eagles will practice at Monmouth on Friday-Saturday because of the Pope's visit.
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) September 23, 2015
"There's supposed to be a lot of people coming to town this weekend," Kelly told reporters. "I heard there's something going on."
According to Press of Atlantic City's David Weinberg, the practices will not be open to the public.
Eagles' wide reciever Miles Austin played 39 games, 30 of which were starts, with the Monmouth University Hawks from 2002-2005. His 150 receptions for 2,867 yards (19.1 average) and 33 touchdowns set records for both the university and the Northeast Conference.
In the press conference, Kelly referred to Austin as being 'the legend coming back home'.
This is not the first time the upcoming papal visit has affect the Eagles.
Ahead of scheduling for this season, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput reportedly sent a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, requesting that the Eagles would be away this week 'to give Philadelphians a chance to see the pope in person'.
Goodell accepted the request, thus explaining why three of the Eagles' first four games are away from Lincoln Financial Field.
Monmouth is approximately an hour drive, or 50 miles away from MetLife Stadium, the home of the Jets and New York Giants (0-2) since 2010.
Matt Rappa (@mattrappasports) is a contributor to Eagledelphia.com.
