Posted August 29th, 2026 | No Comments »I’ve been watching football for 50 years. I’ve been a serious fan for more than 40 years. I got into scouting players 30 years ago. And preseason football still confuses me, It is hard to tell what is real and what is a false positive.
I remember watching a Pats preseason game in the mid-90s. They had a DT named Devin Wyman who looked dominant. I was super impressed and told my friends this was a guy to watch. Bill Parcells had another great defensive player on his hands. Wyman started 4 games over two seasons and had 1 sack. And then he was done. He was able to dominate backups in August, but not good enough to be starters in the fall. There is a massive difference.
Na Brown. Paul Turner. And now Carson Steele. He was released by the Eagles and that confused more than a few people. You can argue he was the best Eagles player over the past two games. But that was in terms of results, not process. Steele has the right combination of size, athleticism and effort that helps him shine in August. He’s done that with multiple teams.
KC put him on the roster in 2024. He ran for 183 yards and averaged 3.3 yards per carry. He caught 7 passes and averaged 3.7 yards per reception. Not ideal. He’s just not quite good enough to make plays against starters. Steele is great in the summer when he’s going against future car salesmen, insurance employees or welders. He’s not the same when going against guys like Zack Baun.
It is easy to focus on results in the preseason. You need to pay more attention to how guys do things. You’re looking for traits and skills that will translate to the regular season. That’s why you get excited about Josh Weru. He shows the kind of athleticism you need to be a good edge rusher. The results aren’t there yet obviously, but the raw talent is. That’s why you cut Steele and keep Weru.
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After rewatching part of the Cincy game, I’m wondering if the Eagles could go heavy at OL and keep Cam Williams. He’s better in games than practice and showed some good things the last two weeks. They could be willing to take a chance on him in hopes that he could compete for the swing tackle position in 2027.
The team could go light at DB. They could put extra guys on the practice squad to help if needed. This wasn’t a great summer for backup and developmental DBs. Guys didn’t play so well that they secured jobs. Others had injuries. we’ll see what happens there.
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Here are the cuts we know about so far.
CB Ambry Thomas
CB Tariq Castro-Fields
RB Carson Steele
DB Maximus Pulley
OL Myles Hinton
WR Quez Watkins
DT Gabe Hall
DT Zion Wilson
DB Cole Wisniewski
TE Stone Smartt
CB Shaun Wade
ED Tarron Jackson
OG Michael Jordan
RB Jordan Mims
No real surprises. Hall had a good summer. He got caught in a numbers crunch. Pulley was productive, but didn’t make plays or stand out in coverage. I’m sure the Eagles would love to get both guys on the PS.
Wiz is injured and will go to IR if he’s not claimed.
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The Eagles haven’t added any outside players, but they are looking.
Rookie Keyshawn James-Newby did some good things vs Cincy and could be worth putting on the PS. Reiger would be another PS option. I enjoyed watching his tape last spring and thought he could be a good late round option for the Birds.
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Posted August 29th, 2026 | No Comments »The Eagles have one of the best rosters in the league. There are Pro Bowl players all over the lineup. That said, there are some odd spots on this team. Howie Roseman will be making calls to see if he can find help for those spots.
Normally we have a really good feel for the top 50 or so guys. With the 2 IPP players and some injury situations, this is a confusing year. It will be interesting to see the decisions that Howie and the coaching staff make.
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QB – 3 – Jalen Hurts, Tanner McKee, Cole Payton
The QB2 battle has been weird this summer. Whatever the Eagles plan was, it didn’t work. Neither McKee nor Dalton was good. I don’t think anyone is trading for either guy. If Howie can find a taker for Dalton, go ahead and put him in Canton. I don’t have a lot of confidence in what the team will do here since things were so weird this summer. Nothing will shock me, including a trade to add a QB.
RB – 3 – Saquon Barkley, Tank Bigsby, Will Shipley
This is pretty obvious. Dameon Pierce showed some juice vs Cincy and could be PS material. Some may wonder if Carson Steele should also be included. I think Pierce is better, but Steele could have value as a practice player.
WR – 5 – DeVonta Smith, Dontayvion Wicks, Makai Lemon, Darius Cooper, Hollywood Brown
The first four feel set in stone. Brown has guaranteed money and that will help push him onto the roster. He’s also been playing better recently, which definitely helps. Elijah Moore has had a good summer and could earn a spot, but I’m guessing they think they can get him through to the PS. It is possible the team adds a receiver from another team (trade or waiver claim) if they think it is needed.
TE – 4 – Dallas Goedert, Johnny Mundt, Eli Stowers, Cam Latu
TE is the position most likely to see a change. The first question is about Stowers health. He’s dealing with a hamstring. Could that push him to IR for the start of the season? Latu make sense for the roster because he is a solid blocker and STer. He can play FB and TE. Howie is likely talking to other teams to see who is available. The Eagles would be okay if healthy, but an injury to DG would lead to issues. It is possible the Eagles add Zach Ertz after Week 1 (so his salary isn’t guaranteed). He reportrdly would like to return.
OL – 10 – Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Tyler Steen, Lane Johnson, Fred Johnson, Markel Bell, Drew Kendall, Willie Lampkin, Micah Morris
The starters are set. the backup who gave me pause is Fred Johnson. He hasn’t had a great summer and isn’t an ideal fit for the new scheme. Bell didn’t practice this week so I think you need Fred just in case. John Ojukwu, Jake Majors and Cam Williams showed promise and could all be PS material.
DL – 6 – Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Moro Ojomo, Byron Young, Ty Robinson, Uar Bernard
No surprises here. Robinson has played his way onto the roster. Bernard has shown enough progress that I think you want to keep him on the roster so he can practice and continue to develop. He won’t play this year, but practice reps will be crucial for him. Gabe Hall is roster-worthy, but gets caught in a numbers crunch.
ED – 6 – Jonathan Greenard, Jalyx Hunt, Nolan Smith, AJ Epenesa, Arnold Ebiketie, Josh Weru
The only real question here is if Greenard has a setback that puts him on IR to start the season. I don’t anticipate that. Weru has shown enough that he deserves a roster spot. If you cut him I have no doubt that a bad team would snatch him right up. Epenesa had a strong summer and Ebiketie was solid. They could try to put Ebiketie on the PS, but that would be risky with how pass rushers are valued around the league.
LB – 5 – Zack Baun, Jihaad Campbell, Jeremiah Trotter Jr, Chance Campbell, Smael Mondon
I’m sure Howie will see if he can deal one of his LBs since this is such a deep position. Mondon and Campbell make the most sense. If they can deal one of them, Deontae Lawson could be added to the roster. Campbell played well in his two preseason games. You can see why Vic Fangio like him.
SAF – 4 – Drew Mukuba, Marcus Epps, Michael Carter, Kapena Gushiken
Remember when assessing this position that Cooper DeJean has to be factored in. He will be playing safety in the base defense. Epps has had a good summer and will start in the sub packages. Carter gives them depth at S and nickel. I went with Gush over Maximus Pulley because Gush is more versatile, more athletic and I feel like they have played about the same. It certainly wouldn’t shock me to see Pulley make the team over him. Both guys have flashed. I’m guessing rookie Cole Wisniewski goes on IR. He’s had a string of injuries this spring and summer. He’s currently dealing with a concussion. If he is healthy, they could go with him, but I feel like that is more of a long shot right now for durability reasons. It is possible an outside player could be added. Andre Sam’s injury takes away a veteran option.
CB – 5 – Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Riq Woolen, Mac McWilliams, Kelee Ringo
The big three are set. I think McWilliams has played well enough this summer to make the roster. He’s not been great, but has gotten better and has good potential. He’s also versatile, with the ability to play inside or outside. Ringo has played his way onto the roster with good showings in each of the past two games. The light finally went on for him. Give Fangio credit for believing in Ringo when many of us wanted him gone. Jonathan Jones could make it, but he seems more like a PS option at this point.
ST – 2 – Braden Mann, Jake Elliott
Rocco Underwood is the LS. The practice reports haven’t been glowing in regard to him. If the Eagles want to go heavy elsewhere, this is a spot where they can take a chance. Put him on the Ps to begin the season and then figure out if he’s your long term solution or you want to find another snapper.
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