Roster Moves

The Eagles have until 4pm on Tuesday to be down to 53 players. Howie Roseman and his staff started making the moves on Monday, trying to piece together the roster and give some players extra time to find a job.

The biggest moves were additions rather than subtractions.

Roster Moves: OL Landon Dickerson has been activated from the Active/Non-Football Injury list and S Rodney McLeod has been activated from the Active/PUP list. pic.twitter.com/AeoHaQGzQI

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 30, 2021

McLeod I expected, Dickerson I did not.

The Eagles are thin at safety (“Thin? That’s damn near invisible.” – who gets that movie quote?). They need McLeod, ASAP. He isn’t likely to be ready for the opener, but they couldn’t afford to wait six weeks with him on PUP.

The Dickerson move caught me off guard. I thought the Eagles would bring him along slowly. Instead, they are trying to get him on the field as soon as they can. The OL is healthy now so he’s not needed at the moment, but we learned last year that OL health can change in a hurry.

Dickerson becomes your top backup G or C, talent-wise.

Landon Dickerson’s first practice work begins as the nominal second-team center in individual drills.

— Bo Wulf (@Bo_Wulf) August 30, 2021

Activating Dickerson could have a trickle down effect. Sua Opeta now becomes a long shot to make the roster. Even Nate Herbig isn’t on solid ground. This could mean cuts or possibly trades.

The Linc – Eagles fielding trade calls about offensive line and linebackers https://t.co/zIbG5RT1MA

— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) August 30, 2021

The Eagles saw how important OL depth was last year so they could just listen to offers and decide to keep as many OL as possible. The important thing is that they have options.

Mailata – Seumalo – Kelce – Brooks – Johnson
Dillard – Toth – Dickerson – Herbig – Driscoll
Clark – Opeta – Awosika – Pryor

Dillard is the big name to watch. Teams needing LT help will be calling the Eagles to see what the cost for him is. The Eagles can deal him if they want since Mailata has established himself as the starter and Brett Toth showed he could play LT this summer. Le’Raven Clark is also in the mix.

The Eagles could hold onto Dillard to see if a contender has to deal with an OT injury during the year. That’s when Dillard might be his most valuable. We’ll just have to wait and see how things play out.

One OL did get clipped already.

#Eagles are waiving OL Ross Pierschbacher, former fifth-round pick of the Washington Football Team, who signed in Philly late last season.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 31, 2021

I think he could be a good fit for the practice squad.

What about LB? Do the Eagles really have enough depth to deal someone there?

Eric Wilson and Alex Singleton are the starters. Davion Taylor is a key part of the future. The Eagles could shop T.J. Edwards and then keep Shaun Bradley as a backup. Or they could shop Bradley, who is the better athlete. And they still have JaCoby Stevens.

It is possible teams could have interest in Genard Avery. He’s not 100 percent healthy right now. And the Eagles may want him to be their SAM for 2021 so shopping him might not make sense.

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Some cuts are being made today.

The Eagles have released CB Michael Jacquet, per source.

Could end up back on their practice squad if he clears waivers.

— Dave Zangaro (@DZangaroNBCS) August 30, 2021

https://twitter.com/MattLombardoNFL/status/1432505826095284225

I’m told the #Eagles have informed Australian DE Matt Leo that he will be cut and they intend to use the international pathway exemption with him on the practice squad. Leo had a strong showing during this past week vs. the #Jets in practice.

— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) August 31, 2021

No surprises, as you would expect. The bigger, tougher moves will come on Tuesday. The Eagles want to see if they can drum up trade interest in any of their bottom of the roster players.

*****

Some of you questioned how I could go with only four CBs on my roster prediction.

The Eagles have four legit corners right now…Slay – Nelson – Maddox – McPhearson.

The players behind them aren’t good and just as important right now…aren’t healthy. I agree that four corners isn’t enough as a long term number. That was my guess for the initial roster.

The team will look into trades and/or claiming someone who gets cut. They have to know CB depth is an issue.

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Roster Prediction

The Eagles roster has to be down to 53 players on Tuesday. A lot can happen between now and then but I’ll go ahead and make my roster prediction based on what we know now.

In a good year, there are 55 to 58 guys you want to keep. That’s not the case right now. The Eagles will be calling teams about potential trades and they’ll be watching the waiver wire closely. Depth at WR, DT and DB is a question mark.

This is a complicated roster to figure out for a few reasons.

• You have Rodney McLeod and Landon Dickerson coming off ACL injuries. Do they go on PUP or get activated?
• Will Zach Ertz get traded? Will Andre Dillard get traded?
• Tyree Jackson should make the initial roster and then be put on IR the next day so that he can rehab, but still potentially play this year.
• The team suddenly has depth at LB. Is that a spot where you can go deep?
• What do you do with Travis Fulgham and Nate Herbig? They showed starter ability last year, but were disappointing this summer.

In the end, you focus on keeping the best players and having what you need on gameday. With that in mind:

QB (3)

Hurts, Flacco, Minshew

RB (4) 

Sanders, Scott, Howard, Gainwell

WR (6)

Smith, Watkins, Reagor, Ward, Fulgham, Arcega-Whiteside

TE (3)

Ertz, Goedert, Jackson

OL (10)

Mailata, Seumalo, Kelce, Brooks, Johnson
Dillard, Toth, Herbig, Awosika, Driscoll

DE (5)

Graham, Barnett, Sweat, Kerrigan, M. Williams

DT (4)

Cox, Hargrave, McGill, Ridgeway

LB (6)

Wilson, Singleton, Taylor, Edwards, Bradley
Johnson

S (5)

Harris, McLeod, Wallace, Epps, Riley

CB (4)

Slay, Nelson, Maddox, McPhearson

ST (3)

Lovato, Siposs, Elliott

*****

I think QB and RB are pretty self-explanatory.

WR is where things get interesting. After the first three, things are wide open. Greg Ward is a high-character, versatile player, but he’s got limited talent. Fulgham and JJAW both have some size so that makes them useful since the main guys are medium to small. I could see the Eagles looking for help here. They also could go light at WR.

At TE, I have Richard Rodgers getting cut. He’ll be re-added the next day when Tyree Jackson goes on IR. If the Eagles deal Ertz, Jack Stoll has a chance to make it.

I went heavy on the OL. The starters have a trio of older guys so there is a need to keep young talent. I kept Awosika over Sua Opeta. Awosika played OT in college and in some of the preseason games. He’s more natural at OG, but the Eagles were cross-training him and that shows some interest in his ability. Opeta is a guard and nothing special. Hopefully the Matt Pryor era is over. Le’Raven Clark didn’t wow me on Friday. I would keep Toth over him. Landon Dickerson goes to PUP. The Eagles are deep enough to not rush him.

DE is pretty easy. Tarron Jackson should be on the practice squad, but he’s not worthy of a roster spot right now.

The starting DTs are set. T.Y. McGill had a strong summer and should make the roster. Things are open after him. Hassan Ridgeway has flashed in the past, but didn’t stand out this year. I kept him for now, but the team should look for an upgrade. I can’t see how Raequan Williams makes it. Love his effort, but he just isn’t good enough.

I went sorta heavy at LB. The Eagles could look to deal either Edwards or Bradley. Both guys played well this summer. I think Patrick Johnson earned a spot. I cut Genard Avery. I would see about putting Davion Taylor on short term IR and bringing Avery back. I don’t think Johnson is ready to play a lot. I cut JaCoby Stevens. He just didn’t do enough to earn a spot, but he’s ideal for the practice squad.

Safety is tough. McLeod is coming off a torn ACL. Wallace has a groin injury. Riley left practice the other day and missed the Jets game. I kept Riley over Andrew Adams because Riley looked better this summer and could be a better STer. I’m assuming Riley is okay. If his injury could last a few weeks, Adams would get the nod.

I don’t like going with just four corners, but the group is healthy. I thought about keeping Josiah Scott, but he got hurt in the game the other night and I’m not sure what his status is. The Eagles should be looking for backup CB help. Jacquet isn’t good enough. Craig James is still dealing with a foot injury.

*****

I’m guessing Dillard and Ertz get traded, but that could take a few days. Teams want to make moves and see what else is out there.

Dillard played well against the Jets and showed his raw ability. He hasn’t practiced well, but you could see how good his feet are in that game. He has legit talent, making his struggles all the more frustrating. There are a few teams with LT issues that should be interested in taking a chance on him. The Eagles won’t get good value, but with Mailata as the starter and Toth as a backup, they have OT flexibilty.

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