Well, here it is. Presented in the form of a 2003 PowerPoint, the Philadelphia Eagles dropped their 53-man roster. Here is everything you need to know about this year’s team following what must have been days of tricky decisions.
Quarterback (3)
Joe Flacco, Jalen Hurts, Gardner Minshew
No shocks here, Jalen Hurts has been named the starter and Minshew mania is running wild.
Running Back (3)
Kenneth Gainwell, Miles Sanders, Boston Scott
Very surprised to see that Jordan Howard didn’t make the cut. Carrying three running backs seems like a very bad idea and while they may be able to bring back Howard and someone like Jason Huntley, it’s still an unnecessary risk worth taking.
Wide Receiver (5)
J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Jalen Reagor, DeVonta Smith, Greg Ward, Quez Watkins
John Hightower and Travis Fulgham are both missing from this list but should end up on the practice squad. It’s a little worrying to see JJAW drive up the pecking order after making one single catch, but Adam Caplan’s rant about Travis Fulgham being nullified sort of makes up for it.
Tight End (4)
Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, Tyree Jackson, Jack Stoll
The team were always going to keep Tyree Jackson on the roster, but he’ll likely revert to IR shortly, leaving an open roster spot for someone like Howard/Huntley, or maybe some additional DB depth. We’ll get to that later.
Offensive Line (10)
Brandon Brooks, Landon Dickerson, Andre Dillard, Jack Driscoll, Nate Herbig, Lane Johnson, Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailata, Isaac Seumalo, Brett Toth
Waiving Sua Opeta was a surprise and acts as a vote of confidence in the snapping abilities of Nate Herbig and rookie Landon Dickerson.
Huge round of applause should go to Brett Toth for performing admirably all preseason long pushing his way onto the back end of the roster.
Defensive End (5)
Derek Barnett, Brandon Graham, Tarron Jackson, Ryan Kerrigan, Josh Sweat
No real shocks here. Tarron Jackson impressed the coaches throughout the summer and has more than earned his place in the rotation.
Defensive Tackle (4)
Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Marlon Tuipulotu, Milton Williams
Marlon Tuipulotu had a very quiet camp but makes the roster as DT4. It’s worth noting that T.Y McGill is currently on the COVID-19 list and will probably claim that spot. Whether the team waive their draft pick to make way for him is the next question.
Linebacker (7)
Genard Avery, Shaun Bradley, T.J. Edwards, Patrick Johnson, Alex Singleton, Davion Taylor, Eric Wilson
The Eagles go very heavy here. The position has a lot of upside, sure, but this feels like a little overkill for a team that will play out of the nickel more often than not. There’s a heavy emphasis on the new SAM role under Jonathan Gannon it seems.
Cornerback (5)
Avonte Maddox, Zech McPhearson, Steven Nelson, Josiah Scott, Darius Slay
If you’re under 6’0 raise your hand *four corners raise their hand*
Josiah Scott did great to earn a spot on this roster but there’s a real lack of depth on the boundary.
Safety (4)
Marcus Epps, Anthony Harris, Rodney McLeod, K’Von Wallace
Andrew Adams was waived to make way for Rodney McLeod, but again, this feels light.
Specialists (3)
Jake Elliott, Rick Lovato, Arryn Siposs
I still miss Cameron Johnston.
Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire
