As the NFL roster cutdown continues, the Eagles have made a fairly surprising move – parting ways with former draft picks Rasul Douglas & Sidney Jones.
This comes as quite a big surprise. Jones was a former second-round pick and Douglas was selected one round later. After the Eagles handed Craig James a contract extension, it was assumed that one of the two corners would face the chopping board. Seeing both go certainly comes as a surprise.
Douglas re-worked his contract earlier this offseason, reducing his salary down to a minimum deal, but that may have worked against him here as it was easily expendable. The trade market was very quiet and Douglas had long been on the outside looking in, representing a draft pick where the front office felt one way and the coaching staff another. He’d still appeared in 46 games for the Eagles, being one of their healthier cornerbacks, amassing 25 passes defensed in that time. After working on his footwork this offseason, it was assumed he’d backup Slay while Jones sits behind Maddox. Neither scenario will now happen.
As for the more shocking move, Jones has had a bumpy time in Philadelphia – one mired by consistent nagging injuries and inconsistent play. When healthy, it’s clear the talent is there…but finding his rhythm and staying healthy was always the challenge. Jones missed a string of practices this Summer and in his contract year, the Eagles had seen enough.
Depth is now ridiculously thin at corner, but the team could well be leaning on the fact that Jalen Mills, a former CB2, is still kicking around at safety.
The Eagles need to trim their rosters down to 53 by 4PM.
Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire
