Johnny Wilson catches his 1st TD — now he has to pay the price

Johnny Wilson catches his 1st TD — now he has to pay the price originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

As Johnny Wilson got ready to speak to a reporter in the visiting locker room at AT&T Stadium a voice chimed in from the corner of the locker room.

“Make sure you tell him about the cost of that touchdown.” 

It was Jalen Hurts.

And Wilson, who caught his first-career touchdown catch in the 34-6 win over the Cowboys, grew a sheepish grin.

“I think it’s time for me to get a haircut,” said Wilson, who has long, bouncy hair. “Me and Jalen made a deal this summer. Throw me my first touchdown, I get a haircut.”

The franchise quarterback and the sixth-round pick agreed to their deal in Orlando this summer while they worked out together ahead of training camp. It took 10 weeks but Hurts finally found Wilson in the end zone on a scramble drill in the third quarter.

Wilson came back to the ball and snagged it for a 5-yard touchdown to put the Eagles up 21-6.

So how short is he going to cut his hair?

“I don’t know,” Wilson said. “I might just get a little fade on the sides and keep this (on top).”

The Eagles released a video of Wilson’s touchdown to highlight Saquon Barkley, who made sure to collect that first touchdown ball for his teammate. But if you watch the end, you’ll see Hurts run up to Wilson and mimic taking an electric trimmer to the top of his helmet.

Wilson, 23, is just appreciative to have such a close relationship to the franchise quarterback.

“Yeah, definitely,” he said. “It just builds the trust on and off the field. Shoot, the relationships here mean everything. It just helps you play better. It helps you play for the dude next to you.”

The Eagles drafted Wilson in the sixth round out of Florida State. The 6-foot-6, 228-pound receiver had some strong moments in training camp and got plenty of first-team reps before the team ultimately traded for Jahan Dotson in August.

This season, he has played 159 offensive snaps and has just 2 catches for 14 yards. But Wilson is able to use his frame as a blocker and does a lot of the dirty work that often goes unrecognized. The team was pretty happy to get him his first touchdown on Sunday.

“Well, it means a lot because when you start to get down to the stretch of the season, sometimes I think guys, especially young guys they try to search for their place on the team, what’s their role,” Hurts said. “You got to be diligent, you got to be patient.”

Wilson actually thought he caught his first touchdown last week against the Jaguars. He reeled in a nine-yarder in the end zone in the second quarter but Wilson was called for an offensive pass interference.

Because that happened last week, it did take some luster off his first touchdown that counted.

“It’s crazy because today it didn’t feel like how it felt last week,” Wilson said. “That really felt like my first one. It was a surreal moment for about 2 seconds. I was super excited, I didn’t know what to do and then I saw the flag. I was like, ‘Oh, well, better not get too excited.’”

The one good thing about that overturned touchdown against the Jaguars? Wilson got to keep his hair for one extra week.

Is Hurts really going to make Wilson pay up?

Wilson slowly turned his head and peeked down to Hurts’ locker before turning back and shrugging his shoulders.

We’ll see.

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