Early Roster Cuts

The Eagles are in the process of finalizing their roster. We don’t know if there will be any additions, but we know they will be making a lot of cuts. That began on Thursday, with the team letting go of some interesting players.

Roster Moves: #Eagles have waived the following players: pic.twitter.com/2FbhysMCbM

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 3, 2020

More than a few people thought Deontay Burnett would make the team. Burnett had a good showing in camp, but the Eagles were deeper at receiver than anticipated. They could have gone heavy there, but decided against it. Their philoosphy is to focus on the line of scrimmage so this really isn’t a surprise.

Some thought team might keep Burnett or even Marcus Green over Greg Ward. While he was terrific last December, Ward hasn’t been anything special this summer. I think the Eagles valued his performance last season over summer highlights. Ward has an established rapport with Carson Wentz and he can also contribute on special teams. He is more of a proven commodity.

The Eagles cut all three RBs who were fighting for one roster spot. None of them played well enough to force the team to keep them. Holyfield had some good moments. Killins has very intriguing potential. But neither guy consistently stood out. Both would make a lot of sense for the practice squad. Holyfield as insurance and Killins as a developmental prospect. He needs time and work.

Grayland Arnold made plays and showed real potential. He’s another guy who would be ideal for the practice squad.

Some thought Luke Juriga might push for a roster spot. I did not anticipate that based on what I saw of his college tape. He could be a good C/G prospect for the practice squad.

The Eagles still have 67 players on their roster so they have 14 more cuts to make.

Will they look for any help? That certainly is possible. I’m sure they’ll check out OL cuts from other teams. As we’ve discussed quite a bit recently, the LT and backup OT positions are wide open right now.

They could also look for RB help. The Eagles like the trio of Miles Sanders, Boston Scott and Corey Clement. They might go light at RB and just keep that trio, with one or two guys on the practice squad. Depending on what moves are made, the team could try to bring someone else in. They don’t really have a power back in the mix right now.

I don’t see them adding a S or CB, but never say never.

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Sources: Negotiations between the #Eagles and TE Zach Ertz came to an abrupt halt when PHI made an offer that had less guaranteed money than their offer in November. The backloaded offer also had less cash over the next 4 seasons annually than Austin Hooper’s #Browns contract.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 3, 2020

The Eagles should not be in a rush to get anything done. Ertz is a terrific TE and has been a key player in recent years. He’s also aging and the team has Dallas Goedert behind him. They have to be careful with how much money they put in the TE position.

The Travis Kelce effect. Well, it looks like the #Eagles and Zach Ertz will be done talking for a while. Ertz has two years left on his deal and we’ll see where it goes from here. https://t.co/jc8ujBLwO8

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 3, 2020

Travis Kelce signed a bad deal a few years back. I’m sure the Eagles are trying to convince Ertz and his agent to sign a similar deal. Obviously that isn’t going over so well. We’ll have to wait and see on this one.

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