Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Preseason Football

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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