The Philadelphia Eagles' second preseason game is now in the books, so let's go ahead and project what the 53-man roster will look like after final cuts, shall we?
Quarterback (3): Carson Wentz, Nate Sudfeld, Clayton Thorson
The quarterback roster projections have been the most volatile of the preseason, as the backups can't stay in one piece. Last week we projected Cody Kessler over Thorson, but with Kessler having shown very little in camp and the preseason games, and now suffering a concussion on top of that, it's hard to justify keeping him. Yes, he has 12 career starts, but, meh.
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I think the Eagles will just roll the dice with Thorson as the No. 2 for a few weeks and hope they don't need him until Sudfeld gets healthy.
Maybe the Eagles will sign an arm just to get them through practices, but I even doubt that.
Running back (5): Jordan Howard, Miles Sanders, Darren Sproles, Corey Clement, Wendell Smallwood
I go back and forth in my head about whether or not to include Wendell Smallwood as a fifth running back, and while I don't think that they should keep him, ultimately I believe that they will.
Wide receiver (5): Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, Nelson Agholor, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Mack Hollins
Marken Michel and Greg Ward have had better training camps and preseason contributions than Mack Hollins, but I don't think the Eagles are close to giving up on Hollins yet to make room for either guy, and I don't think there's enough room on the roster for 6 wide receivers, unless they are "must-haves." Michel and Ward have had their moments, but they're not that.
Tight end (3): Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, Richard Rodgers
How serious is Richard Rodgers' foot injury? On August 3, he was listed as day-to-day. In the Eagles' last practice on Tuesday, he was still working out on a side field, and not participating in any way with the team. He ain't "day-to-day."
For now, we'll keep him on, but Josh Perkins is a threat to take his job.
On a side note, I think that if the Eagles were to sign a player off of waivers from another team at 53-man cutdowns, tight end is a possibility.
Offensive line (9): Jason Peters, Lane Johnson, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks, Isaac Seumalo, Andre Dillard, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Jordan Mailata, Matt Pryor
Stefen Wisniewski's shotgun snap issues are obvious, and the team can't possibly feel comfortable at the moment plugging him in at center if need be. In my view, he's a backup LG only, and thus, not very valuable on a team that now has some level of comfort with some of their younger players to fill in as depth.
MORE: WTS: The Eagles' biggest roster hole and takeaways from the second preseason game
Defensive end (5): Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, Vinny Curry, Josh Sweat, Daeshon Hall
Hall is pushing Sweat for the fourth DE job, and while Shareef Miller has flashed at times, he's a great candidate for a redshirt phantom IR season. He can use a season to focus on getting stronger in the weight room.
Defensive tackle (5): Fletcher Cox, Malik Jackson, Timmy Jernigan, Hassan Ridgeway, Treyvon Hester
The Eagles are very deep, and very talented along the interior of their defensive line. Ridgeway's concussion is worth monitoring, but he should be safe.
Linebacker (5): Nigel Bradham, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Zach Brown, Nate Gerry, L.J. Fort
If the Eagles are missing both Bradham and Grugier-Hill Week 1, they'll consider keeping an extra linebacker. I don't think it's necessary.
Cornerback (6): Ronald Darby, Avonte Maddox, Sidney Jones, Rasul Douglas, Orlando Scandrick, Cre'Von LeBlanc
The bet here is that Jalen Mills begins the season on PUP, in which case the above six players are obvious.
Safety (4): Malcolm Jenkins, Rodney McLeod, Andrew Sendejo, Johnathan Cyprien
With Blake Countess being released with an injury settlement, a spot opens up for Cyprien. The team seems to have soured on Tre Sullivan, based on camp and preseason reps.
Specialists (3): Jake Elliott, Cameron Johnston, Rick Lovato
These guys are running unopposed.
PUP
• CB Jalen Mills
Phantom IR
• DE Shareef Miller
Practice squad
- RB Boston Scott
- WR Marken Michel
- Some TE currently on another roster
- iOL Nate Herbig
- OG Sua Opeta
- OT Brett Toth
- LB Alex Singleton
- LB T.J. Edwards
- CB Jay Liggins
- S Tre Sullivan
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