Training camp officially starts tomorrow for the Philadelphia Eagles and the team have made a few roster moves ahead of what promises to be an extremely exciting few weeks before the start of the regular season.
The team first parted ways with cornerback Dwayne Gratz. The former Jags corner signed a two-year deal with the Eagles last season, but never played a snap and failed to stand out during OTA’s in what has become a ruthless competition.
Prior to becoming an Eagle, Gratz was a third round pick back in 2013 and started 25 times for the Jaguars. The Rams claimed him off waivers during October, but he only played in three games as a predominant special-teamer.
In his place, the Eagles signed former Tulsa QB, Dane Evans.
Doug Pederson announced at the end of Mandatory Minicamp that he intended to bring in the UDFA to sit behind Wentz, Foles, and McGloin for the remainder of the offseason…but the tryout wasn’t signed to a contract after impressing during rookie minicamp. A Minicamp where he battled with the likes of Jerod Evans and Dakota Prukop.
This pro-style quarterback ended his career in stunning fashion. Evans completed 59.4% of his passes in 2016, throwing for 3,340 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. At 6’1, 210 lbs, Evans has nice size for a pocket passer, but has largely been inefficient when scrambling..actually totaling -29 rushing yards last year, fumbling twice. Evans will be competing for an eventual QB3 spot with Matt McGloin..but it will be a tall mountain to climb.
After releasing DGB, the Eagles technically have one more open roster spot up for grabs. It wouldn’t be surprising to see one more name added to the roster in the coming days.
Next up, the team placed both Beau Allen and Sidney Jones on the Actice/Non-Football Injury list. The two still contribute to the 90-man roster count, and while it was clear from the get-go, that Jones would be following his offseason injury, this may put a spanner in the works for Beau Allen.
Allen suffered a pectoral injury prior to minicamp, sidelining him for the entire spring and now potentially most of camp. With five other defensive tackles vying for backup roles, Allen is now in an interesting spot. He was coming off of a career year and after talks of a contract extension ignited, they were soon extinguished. It’s now the last year of Allen’s contract and his back is against the wall.
On another note, Ryan Mathews is still on the roster with camp just around the corner, so it will be worth keeping an eye on how soon his neck injury is officially given a timeframe return, and whether or not the team will decide to cut ties, keep him around for cap, or even maybe negotiate a pay-cut.
Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
