Getty Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is reported to have called the Carolina Panthers about the availability of defensive end Brian Burns.
Philadelphia Eagles players spent Tuesday away from the practice facility, but the front office was busy tweaking the roster for the 2023 season. The team inked a reserve/future contract with offensive tackle Jarrid Williams. The 6-foot-6, 308-pounder won’t be eligible for this year’s postseason run, although he gets an automatic invite when training camp opens.
Williams, an undrafted rookie out of Miami, was originally signed to the Eagles practice squad after the 2022 NFL draft. He has been released twice, then signed back to the practice squad and then placed on injured reserve before being released again on November 22 to make room for receiver Auden Tate. Yes, it’s been a whirlwind of a first year for Williams.
The Texas native started 10 games at right tackle at the University of Miami as a redshirt senior in 2021 while earning an 84.1 grade from Pro Football Focus. Prior to that, the Texas native made 19 starts (right and left tackle) in four years at the University of Houston.
Jarrid Williams played over 500 pass-blocking snaps for Houston and only allowed 13 pressures all season.
Here is a scouting report on Williams, via State of The U:
William’s story is really a good one to root for and teams can always use big bodies like his, at least as a depth option on offensive lines that experience a lot of attrition. However, Williams lacks natural athleticism/ability and will be a developmental project in refining his skill set. He projects as an undrafted free agent, where he eventually hopes to carve out a right tackle or possible interior lineman spot a la Ereck Flowers.
Williams Becomes 5th Player Inked to Future Contract
Philadelphia now has five total players signed to reserve/future contracts. In addition to Williams, the Eagles have OG Julian Good-Jones, WR Tyrie Cleveland, RB Kennedy Brooks, and TE Dalton Keene on the books for 2023. What is a reserve/future contract? It’s basically a way to protect young players that general managers believe have an upside for the future.
The Eagles signed T Jarrid Williams to a reserve/futures contract. He’s the 5th player they’ve signed to a futures contract since the end of the regular season:
T Jarrid Williams
TE Dalton Keene
RB Kennedy Brooks
DB Tristin McCollum
OL Julian Good-Jones
Teams can start signing players to them at the end of the regular season. Their contracts don’t count against the 53-man roster or salary cap until March 15 when the new league year starts. At that point, players on future contracts do count against the 2023 salary cap and 90-man offseason roster.
Pro Football Network’s Ben Rolfe pointed out one interesting caveat: “However, it is crucial to note that once a player signs a futures contract, they are placed on a reserve/futures list and cannot negotiate with other teams. Unlike with practice squads, teams cannot sign other teams’ players with a futures contract. That means NFL general managers and coaches can be confident in having the bottom part of their roster settled for OTAs and training camp.”
49ers Coach Kyle Shanahan Addresses Eagles Matchup
The Eagles started preparations for the NFC Championship by hitting the film room. Ditto for the San Francisco 49ers who will be arriving in South Philly this weekend. Head coach Kyle Shanahan talked about Sunday’s impending clash by throwing kudos on the NFC East champions.
“They’ve been as good as anyone since the beginning of this year, and all the way to right now,” Shanahan told reporters, via 49ers Web Zone. “If you looked at the beginning of the year, you thought Philly would be the last team right here, and that’s the way it’s ended up. So we’re going down there, hopefully, have a good week of practice, and looking forward to the challenge.”
“We’ve been here before and it’s very hard to get here.”
49ers HC Kyle Shanahan after beating the Cowboys to advance to the NFC Title Game.