PHILADELPHIA — Howie Roseman isn’t done. That’s the thing about initial 53-man rosters. They’re initial. The Philadelphia Eagles general manager, along with all the other NFL personnel executives, had to siphon a 91-man roster through Tuesday’s thresholds, adhering to and taking advantage of the rules along the way. Released players who clear waivers or aren’t subjected to them could eventually be signed to the 17-man practice squad.
“We’re incomplete right now,” Roseman said. “We’re at 53, but we really view it as a 70-man roster. We’ve got to go through that here in the next 24 hours to get some players back. We don’t know how that’s going to go. We feel like we’re prepared for whatever the scenarios are on that. As we sit here, things look probably a little bit more incomplete than they will look in the next 24 hours.”
Roseman said this in reference to a question regarding the team’s lack of depth at center. In the most surprising move of Tuesday’s cutdown day, the Eagles waived sixth-round pick Dylan McMahon. He’s the first player drafted by the Eagles to not make the initial 53-man roster since Jacoby Stevens (sixth round, 2020). McMahon is subject to waivers, and, after showing promise as a true center during the preseason, it’s possible another team’s claim prevents the Eagles from stashing him on their practice squad.
It’s a significant move for a position group undergoing a major transition. The Eagles are confident that Cam Jurgens will make their succession plan for Jason Kelce a success. Kelce’s availability added to his legend. He set a franchise record with 156 consecutive starts. But if Jurgens, who missed five games on injured reserve with a foot injury last year, is sidelined again in 2024, there isn’t as much certainty about who’d replace Jurgens.
Of the nine offensive linemen the Eagles initially rostered, five of them have been career offensive tackles. That includes Mekhi Becton, a 2020 first-round pick whose transition to starting right guard will be a matter of great importance for what’s historically been one of the league’s best offensive lines. Roseman attempted to infuse depth along the interior with moderate investments. The Eagles spent a fifth-round pick on Trevor Keegan, a collegiate guard, and a sixth on McMahon. They signed journeymen Matt Hennessy, Brett Toth and Max Scharping in the offseason, and, after a series of training camp injuries, they signed Nick Gates. Only Keegan made the roster.
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“These are hard decisions,” Roseman said. “And you’re really trying to balance the opportunity that you have this year as a football team and also trying to protect the future of the team and of the organization. So, certainly not an easy one. … And I think just for us, where we were looking at the offensive line as a whole and looking at the roster as a whole, tough decision, but that’s where we came up on it.”
By stocking two backup offensive tackles, Darian Kinnard and Fred Johnson, the depth of the interior offensive line becomes the potential Achilles heel of an extremely talented offense. Barring the possibility of bringing McMahon or Toth back on the practice squad, the Eagles’ available backup center option for a “best five” offensive line is Landon Dickerson. He played 33 snaps at center in the 2023 regular-season finale against the Giants when Kelce left with a knee injury. But Dickerson, a two-time Pro Bowler who signed a four-year, $84 million contract extension, is far too valuable at left guard.
It will be significant to see how the Eagles prevent this possibility over the next few days. As for the organization’s other moves on Tuesday, here’s a breakdown of the main takeaways.
New defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has grown to like safety James Bradberry. (Eric Canha / USA Today)
James Bradberry (unsurprisingly) makes the team
This is a decision that just made common sense. The Eagles simply don’t have enough depth at safety right now to dispatch a player new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has grown to like. Sydney Brown is still rehabbing from his season-ending ACL injury, and training camp pickup Caden Sterns, who was still returning from a patella injury, never saw the field.
Bradberry, 31, is still playing under a three-year, $38 million contract in which his 2024 base salary is guaranteed. That financial leverage is partly why the 2020 Pro Bowler felt secure enough to request a position change to safety after regressing at outside cornerback in 2023. A trade helps the Eagles most in alleviating any cap hit, and, as of now, the organization has not found a partner willing to make a deal.
It’s also possible Bradberry, who struggled at times adapting to safety in the preseason, isn’t the team’s best backup option while it awaits Brown’s return. Tristin McCollum, who spent the majority of 2023 on the practice squad, made his first 53-man roster. McCollum was targeted nine times on 81 coverage snaps in the preseason, according to Pro Football Focus, and, of six completions against him, surrendered 9.8 yards per reception.
“Tristan obviously flashed in games and did some really good things in games that we all saw, right?” Sirianni said. “But also, he was consistent in practice and the things that he did in practice. And you know, he has great athletic ability that can help on special teams and we know how he can affect the game on special teams as well.”
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Rookie Ainias Smith headed to injured reserve
The fifth-round pick out of Texas A&M was preserved at the eleventh hour. Smith arrived in Philadelphia with a stress fracture in his shin that slowed his initial development. His visibility was buried beneath the performance of other receivers during the summer, and it appeared Smith was at risk of not making the roster.
After Saturday’s preseason finale, in which Smith caught six passes for 36 yards, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday that the rookie “reported discomfort in his ankle and hamstring” after the exhibition and “his availability for the start of the season is in some doubt.” The timing of the news requires some context and some interpretation.
According to the NFL’s new rules, teams can place a maximum of two players on injured reserve on the day of roster cuts and not lose them for the season so long as they are designated to return. This change essentially provided the Eagles a loophole to retain Smith. The Eagles are also placing tight end Albert Okwuegbunam on injured reserve, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. He’d missed the final two weeks of training camp with an abdomen injury.
“Well, we had two guys that were injured, two guys that if they came back healthy at some point during the season, we think they can help us,” Roseman said. “But we got to get them right. They’re hurt. And so those were two guys that we would have to put on the 53 in other years and then put them on IR tomorrow. So certainly felt like the rule in this situation helped us keep two other players that we may not have been able to keep.”
Roseman, Sirianni impressed with DT Thomas Booker
Roseman and Eagles coach Nick Sirianni spoke most in length about Thomas Booker. A 2022 fifth-round pick by the Houston Texans, released at this very deadline in 2023, the Eagles poached him almost immediately and placed him on their practice squad. Booker didn’t appear in any games in 2023. But Roseman lauded Booker’s progress within the organization’s development program, led by former Eagles edge rusher Connor Barwin.
“This is a guy that if you were here in the offseason, he lived in the facility,” Roseman said of Booker. “Tremendous work ethic, obviously an incredibly smart guy, Stanford guy, he’s got all the tools in his body. And just an incredible tribute to him and how hard he worked. And when you watch the tape and you see his get off and his ability to play with leverage, to play with power, to affect the quarterback, to be disruptive around the quarterback in the backfield. To us, it was clear that this guy deserved to be on the team.”
The Eagles kept six defensive tackles on their initial 53-man roster. Of course, Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis are expected to carry an increased workload under Fangio — Carter especially. But the 6-3, 301-pound Booker has both the frame and strength to play across the line within a system that moves its interior linemen around. Sirianni said Booker’s technique and proficiency were partly improved due to the level of competition he faced in practice as a nose tackle against Kelce, Dickerson and Jurgens.
“No doubt, he made himself a really good player to where he’s on this roster,” Sirianni said. “But that iron sharpening iron is really special.”
Other quick hits from cutdown day
• Keep an eye on Oren Burks: The Eagles initially kept five linebackers, including Ben VanSumeren. They released Burks, a vested veteran, who isn’t subject to the waiver wire. Burks missed the majority of the summer with a knee injury, and he nearly made up for lost time with a run-stop and sack in Saturday’s preseason finale. A person familiar with the situation said the Eagles are interested in retaining Burks after further moves in the forthcoming days. Burks could be a practice squad addition.
• Patrick Johnson makes the squad: Of Philadelphia’s six edge rushers, Patrick Johnson, the team’s 2021 seventh-round pick, was a notable depth addition. Johnson had a game-winning sack-fumble in the preseason opener against the Baltimore Ravens. He’s been a consistent presence on special teams in each of his last three seasons.
• Only two tight ends: Keep an eye on E.J. Jenkins as a practice squad addition. He had nine catches for 66 yards. But the 2023 undrafted free agent must first clear waivers. New offensive coordinator Kellen Moore deploys 12 personnel plenty. Any package that’d require more tight ends must for now be supplied from the practice squad.
• Roseman on the Jahan Dotson trade: Roseman on Dotson, said he was a “player that we did a lot of work with in the draft and the draft process. I really liked the player. It felt like we knew him really well, brought him into the building, had exposure to him, felt like we had a vision through the coaching staff of how he could be utilized. There was an opportunity there to get the player, obviously give up a second-day draft (pick), which is important for all of us, but we felt like it was worthwhile based on what we knew, what we thought that we needed, and made the trade.”
2024 Eagles initial 53-man roster
QB (3): Jalen Hurts, Kenny Pickett, Tanner McKee
RB (3): Saquon Barkley, Kenneth Gainwell, Will Shipley
WR (5): A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jahan Dotson, Britain Covey, Johnny Wilson
TE (2): Dallas Goedert, Grant Calcaterra
OL (9): Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Mekhi Becton, Tyler Steen, Trevor Keegan, Darian Kinnard, Fred Johnson
DL (6): Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Milton Williams, Moro Ojomo, Marlon Tuipulotu, Thomas Booker
Edge (6): Josh Sweat, Bryce Huff, Brandon Graham, Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt, Patrick Johnson
LB (5): Devin White, Zack Baun, Nakobe Dean, Ben VanSumeren, Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
CB (6): Darius Slay, Quinyon Mitchell, Isaiah Rodgers, Kelee Ringo, Cooper DeJean, Eli Ricks
S (5): C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Reed Blankenship, James Bradberry, Avonte Maddox, Tristin McCollum
Specialists (3): Jake Elliott, Braden Mann, Rick Lovato
(Top photo of Trevor Keegan: Eric Canha / USA Today)
