Getty Eagles CB Sidney Jones was a second-round pick in 2017.
The Eagles needed to crush a few dreams to get the roster down to 53 players. All good.
That’s just the nature of life in the NFL. The team waived nine total players on Saturday to trim their roster on cut-down day, including a pair of Super Bowl cornerbacks (Sidney Jones, Rasul Douglas) and promising young offensive tackle Prince Tega-Wanogho. Those were arguably the three biggest surprises.
The team kept 23 offensive players and 27 defensive players in a bit of a change from conventional wisdom. The Eagles also placed Brandon Brooks on the PUP list to make room for Casey Toohill. The “tweener” from Stanford had a stellar camp and GM Howie Roseman crowed about his potential.
“I think the thing that stands out with Casey is he’s got the tools in his body and he has the explosiveness in his body,” Roseman said. “He’s got a relentless motor and happy for that kid that he’s got an opportunity to be on the 53.”
As a result, the team cut Shareef Miller and will carry six total edge rushers: Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, Josh Sweat, Vinny Curry, Genard Avery, and Toohill (seventh-rounder in 2020). Miller was a fourth-rounder out of Penn State in 2019, another high pick to flame out in Philly.
“You see it across the league,” Roseman said. “It’s hard to hit on all of your draft picks.”
Introducing your 2020 Philadelphia Eagles.
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Sidney Jones, Rasul Douglas Leave Town
The most notable roster cuts were at the cornerback position: Jones (second-rounder in 2017) and Douglas (third-rounder in 2017), two under-achieving players from the 2017 Super Bowl team. Neither move was all that shocking.
Jones endured an unfortunate rash of injuries during his first three NFL seasons and the old adage rang true: best ability is availability. The Eagles reportedly attempted to trade Jones but found no suitors. He lost the competition for a starting job in back-to-back training camps in Philly.
Here is the complete list of Eagles cuts: CB Rasul Douglas, CB Sidney Jones, DE Shareef Miller, G Sua Opeta, DE Joe Ostman, DT Anthony Rush, TE Noah Togiai, T Prince Tega Wanogho, DT Raequan Williams.
Brandon Brooks went to PUP list and the Eagles waived the following players…
• CB Rasul Douglas
• CB Sidney Jones
• DE Shareef Miller
• G Sua Opeta
• DE Joe Ostman
• DT Anthony Rush
• TE Noah Togiai
• T Prince Tega Wanogho
• DT Raequan Williams
Positional Breakdown: 23 Offense, 27 Defense
The Eagles are expected to make additional moves on Sunday, per Roseman. They need to establish a practice squad and assign IR designations. One surprising move was keeping Alshon Jeffery on the active roster.
Here are how the positions break down on the “final” 53-man roster:
OFFENSE
#Eagles Howie Roseman on decision to keep Alshon Jeffery on 53 (not PUP): “We think he’s going to be ready before the 7th game. He thinks he’s going to be ready before that, and we think he’s a good player. We want to get him back as quick as possible to help this football team.”
Quarterbacks (3): Carson Wentz, Nate Sudfeld, Jalen Hurts
Wide receivers (7): DeSean Jackson, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Alshon Jeffery, Jalen Reagor, Greg Ward, John Hightower, Quez Watkins
Running backs (3): Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, Corey Clement
Tight ends (2): Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert
Offensive line (8): Matt Pryor, Isaac Seumalo, Jason Kelce, Jason Peters, Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, Nate Herbig, Jack Driscoll
DEFENSE
Cornerbacks (5): Darius Slay, Avonte Maddox, Nickell Robey-Coleman, Cre’Von LeBlanc, Craig James
Safeties (6): Rodney McLeod, Jalen Mills, K’Von Wallace, Will Parks, Rudy Ford, Marcus Epps
Linebackers (6): Nate Gerry, Duke Riley, T.J. Edwards, Alex Singleton, Shaun Bradley, Davion Taylor
Defensive Ends (6): Derek Barnett, Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat, Vinny Curry, Casey Toohill, Genard Avery
Defensive Tackles (4): Fletcher Cox, Malik Jackson, Javon Hargrave, Hassan Ridgeway
SPECIAL TEAMS
#Eagles have signed K Jake Elliott to a five-year contract extension through 2024.
Long snapper (1): Rick Lovato
Punter (1): Cameron Johnston
Kicker (1): Jake Elliott
First Round of Eagles Cuts Clear Waivers
The Eagles’ first round of cuts all cleared waivers on Saturday morning and can sign with any team. It will be interesting to see if the team brings any of them back for the practice squad. The most interesting name to watch there is Grayland Arnold.
At 5-foot-9 and 186 pounds, Arnold can play both corner and safety (projects more as a safety, per his trainer) while adding value on punt returns. He seemed to indicate on social media that the Eagles had already added him to the practice squad in a now-deleted tweet. Stay tuned.
Roster Moves: #Eagles have waived the following players:
Other players clearing waivers included WR Deontay Burnett, RB Elijah Holyfield, C Luke Juriga, S Elijah Riley, RB Adrian Killins, WR Travis Fulgham, RB Michael Warren, WR Marcus Green, WR Manasseh Bailey, G Julian Good-Jones, TE Tyrone Swoopes.
Philadelphia also waived DB Michael Jacquet, DE Matt Leo, TE Caleb Wilson, then released DT T.Y. McGill and DB Trevor Williams. Those players were still going through the waiver-wire process and could return.
Best bets to return to the nest? The smart money is on Holyfield and Killins, two dynamic rushers who enjoyed stellar camps. Burnett and Green seem like good bets, thanks to their experience in the Eagles’ system going back to last year.
Bailey — the speedster who caught that air bomb from Jalen Hurts — certainly showed promise, too. Juriga would make sense as a long-term project at center with a good pedigree (his dad played guard in the NFL). And don’t count out Jacquet (the darling of Doug Pederson’s eye) and Riley for secondary depth.
“What you’ve seen from those guys is you’ve seen the ability. All of those guys have shown really well,” defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said of his rookie safeties. “We’re going to have some real tough decisions at a lot of positions, but particularly our safety position.”
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