The Eagles’ backups put together a quality performance on both sides of the ball Friday as they claimed the first preseason tie of the Nick Sirianni era against the Jets at MetLife Stadium. The 31-31 tie might have helped a handful of bubble players push themselves onto the team’s initial 53-man roster.
With the evaluation process coming to a close, the Eagles will have several tough decisions to make over the next few days. However, with the majority of the starters and key role players skipping the exhibition finale, it seems like a lot of those choices have already been made by the coaching staff and front office.
Want more Eagles coverage? Get exclusive news, behind-the-scenes observations and the ability to text directly with reporters
With three preseason games, four joint practices and 13 team workouts in the books, the Eagles and NJ Advance Media have enough evaluation material to decipher heading into the final-cut deadline on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
PREVIOUS PRACTICE OBSERVATIONS: Practice 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13
Patriots Joint Practice 1: Offense | Defense | Patriots Joint Practice 2: Offense | Defense
Jets Joint Practice 1: Offense | Defense | Jets Joint Practice 2: Offense | Defense
Below is NJ Advance Media’s final 53-man roster project ahead of Tuesday’s cutdown deadline:
UPDATE (Saturday, 11:51 a.m. ET): The Eagles acquired QB Gardner Minshew from the Jaguars roughly 12 hours after this projection, so we’ve updated it with Minshew taking the spot of OT Brett Toth).
QUARTERBACKS (3, 3)
IN: Jalen Hurts, Joe Flacco, Gardner Minshew
OUT: Nick Mullens
Barring a last-minute mega-trade for Deshaun Watson, Hurts should carry the baton for the Eagles’ QB room in Week 1. Flacco had an up-and-down summer, but the Eagles paid him quite a bit of money to hold down the backup gig. While Mullens got off to a nice start in camp, but past three weeks have been nothing short of awful. Perhaps the Eagles will stash Mullens on the practice squad due to his experience in the offense, just in case.
RUNNING BACKS (4, 7)
IN: Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, Jordan Howard, Kenny Gainwell
OUT: Jason Huntley, Elijah Holyfield
Sanders, Scott and Gainwell appeared to be the locked-in trio about a week into camp. With Huntley and Kerryon Johnson getting off to strong starts, Howard’s roster status appeared to be shaky. However, Johnson suffered a major injury in the preseason opener and Huntley was sidelined for the better part of two weeks. Howard has taken advantage of both of their absences this month, and didn’t play against the Jets.
WIDE RECEIVERS (6, 13)
IN: DeVonta Smith, Jalen Reagor, Quez Watkins, Greg Ward, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Travis Fulgham
OUT: John Hightower, Andre Patton, Marken Michel
Smith, Reagor and Watkins appear to be the top three players at the position. After investing back-to-back first-round picks on Smith and Reagor, the Eagles will use the pair regularly on offense. Watkins was a summer sensation and earned a job in the top half of the depth chart. While Ward and Fulgham put forth uninspiring performances this summer, they fill roles on special teams and are proven depth in the back half of the position group.
The sixth spot came down to Hightower vs. Arcega-Whiteside. If the preseason finale mattered to the evaluation process, Arcega-Whiteside truly surged his stock. He finished with two catches for 57 yards and a touchdown. His 42-yard score was an impressive downfield catch which featured him breaking two tackles on the way to the end zone. He also followed that up with a stop on kickoff coverage to end the half. Hightower had three catches for 21 yards.
TIGHT ENDS (3, 16)
IN: Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, Tyree Jackson
OUT: Richard Rodgers, Jack Stoll, Cary Angeline
Ertz appears to be stuck in Philly. That’s not particularly good news for Goedert, who was seemingly set for a breakout season with Ertz seeking to move elsewhere. However, it’s probably excellent news for Hurts, who has forged chemistry with both of his talented tight ends this summer. The Eagles are likely to cut Rodgers for Week 1 with the hope of re-signing him in Week 2 when his contract won’t be fully guaranteed.
In order to have complete flexibility with Jackson, the Eagles need to keep him on the initial 53-man roster before putting him on injured reserve. Cutting Rodgers will help the Eagles manage numbers, and then he can be brought back once Jackson is placed on IR.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9, 25)
IN: Jordan Mailata, Isaac Seumalo, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks, Lane Johnson, Andre Dillard, Nate Herbig, Jack Driscoll, Sua Opeta
OUT: Ross Pierschbacher, Kayode Awosika, Matt Pryor, Le’Raven Clark, Brett Toth
NFI: Landon Dickerson
Mailata, Seumalo, Kelce, Brooks and Johnson will make up the starting five, with Dillard, a former first-round pick, displaced from the first-team offense. The Eagles could still trade Dillard to a left tackle-needy team, but they won’t just give him away for poor value. With Dillard only able to play left tackle, the Eagles keep Driscoll to back up right side (plus he can also play guard).
With Dickerson seemingly far away from touching the practice field, the Eagles keep Herbig and Opeta as interior backups. Both young linemen could come in handy down the road with Kelce and Brooks getting up there in age. Dickerson will miss the first six weeks of the season if he remains on the non-football injury list. With the depth the Eagles have at guard and center, that’s a fine outlook.
UPDATE (Saturday, 11:51 a.m. ET): Toth had an impressive performance during the preseason, and he should stick to the roster if the Eagles keep 10 linemen. However, with Minshew’s arrival, that’s unlikely to happen.
Clark is a vested veteran who could be back after Week 1 when his contract won’t be guaranteed. The Eagles seemingly want to find a way to sneak Awisoka onto the practice squad.
DEFENSIVE LINE (8, 33)
IN: Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Josh Sweat, Derek Barnett, Milton Williams, Ryan Kerrigan, T.Y. McGill
OUT: Tarron Jackson, Marlon Tuipulotu, JaQuan Bailey, Matt Leo, Hassan Ridgeway, Raequan Williams
The Eagles’ depth on the defensive line is phenomenal. Graham, Cox and Hargrave are the three surefire starters, while the Eagles can pick from the terrific trio of Barnett, Sweat and Kerrigan on the EDGE based on their weekly matchup. Milton Williams, the team’s third-round pick, brings an added punch behind Graham on the strong side of the line. The rookie can also play inside -- like Graham -- which could allow the Eagles to go lighter at defensive tackle for their final cut.
At defensive tackle, the Eagles are deep, but they need to be strategic. Ridgeway and McGill are a pair of vested veterans who could be cut and then return after the Eagles take care of their injured reserve designations (Taylor/Jackson) on Wednesday.
That said, with McGill’s impressive performance against the Jets -- which included two sacks -- the well-traveled veteran makes the squad over Ridgeway and Raequan Williams. Ridgeway could be back after Week 1, while Raequan Williams is probably headed to the practice squad.
TLDR important stuff: The Eagles are likely to bring nine or 10 defensive linemen into Week 1, but for the initial 53-man roster, they might need to go light to make other roster maneuvers work. The key to the initial 53-man roster is flexibility.
LINEBACKERS (6, 39)
IN: Eric Wilson, T.J. Edwards, Alex Singleton, Davion Taylor, Patrick Johnson, Shaun Bradley
OUT: Rashad Smith, Genard Avery, JaCoby Stevens
Wilson will be the Eagles’ every-down linebacker with the dot on his helmet. In base situations, he will be joined by Edwards and Singleton. That trio has made several plays throughout the summer.
Wilson will be backed up by Taylor at WILL. Singleton will be insured by Johnson at SAM. Bradley will supplement Edwards at MIKE.
Of the backups, Johnson might have been the biggest surprise of the preseason. With Taylor listed as week-to-week with a calf injury, Bradley serves as added insurance at WILL and MIKE.
CORNERBACKS (6, 45)
IN: Darius Slay, Steve Nelson, Avonte Maddox, Zech McPhearson, Craig James, Josiah Scott
OUT: Kevon Seymour, Michael Jacquet
Slay and Nelson will start on the outside, with Maddox manning the slot. McPhearson will serve as the main backup on the outside, while Scott works behind Maddox in the nickel position. That said, Scott suffered a hamstring injury against the Jets, so the Eagles could keep him on the 53-man roster only to place him on injured reserve with a return designation.
James has been battling a foot injury throughout most of camp, but he’s versatile and has special teams ability that the team really covets. James could be held out of action early due to injury, but the Eagles would probably like to keep him on the 53-man roster anyway.
SAFETIES (5, 50)
IN: Anthony Harris, Rodney McLeod, K’Von Wallace, Marcus Epps, Andrew Adams
OUT: Grayland Arnold, Elijah Riley, Blake Countess
Harris and McLeod will start as a tandem once McLeod (knee) can return to the field. While McLeod isn’t likely to start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, he probably won’t play in Week 1. With that in mind, the Eagles will need to keep five active safeties on their 53-man roster.
Harris is likely to partner with Epps on the first-team defense. Wallace is battling a nagging groin injury, which could allow Epps to receive a temporary promotion to the starting lineup.
While it seemed like Adams was destined for a similar short-term exodus to Hargrave or McGill, the veteran safety has played very well over the past two weeks. With his special teams prowess and versatility to play at both safety spots, Adams earns the fifth and final spot at the position.
SPECIAL TEAMS (3, 53)
IN: Jake Elliott, Arryn Siposs, Rick Lovato
OUT: N/A
As Siposs learned this summer, running unopposed can be a lot of fun.
PRACTICE SQUAD (16)
S Grayland Arnold, CB Michael Jacquet, CB Kevon Seymour, DT Raequan Williams, LB Genard Avery, DE Tarron Jackson, DE JaQuan Bailey, RB Elijah Holyfield, WR Andre Patton, QB Nick Mullens, C Harry Crider, G Kayode Awosika, CB Lavert Hill, TE Jack Stoll, TE Cary Angeline, S Elijah Riley
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to us.
Mike Kaye may be reached at mkaye@njadvancemedia.com.
"many" - Google News
August 28, 2021 at 11:41PM
https://ift.tt/3yjve9D
Final Eagles 53-man roster projection: Who’s in? Who’s out? How many wide receivers will be kept? (UPDATED) - NJ.com
"many" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2OYUfnl
https://ift.tt/3f9EULr
No comments:
Post a Comment