August 31, 2021
The Philadelphia Eagles have announced their initial 53-man roster for the 2021 season. Let's take a look at what they did, position-by-position, evaluate the final cuts, and guess on what might be next.
Quarterback (3): Jalen Hurts, Joe Flacco, Gardner Minshew
Cuts (0)
Flacco was never in danger of getting cut after the Eagles traded for Minshew, given Flacco's guaranteed salary. Oh, and Nick Sirianni finally named Jalen Hurts the starting quarterback.
Running back (3): Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, Kenny Gainwell
Cuts (3): Jordan Howard, Jason Huntley, Elijah Holyfield
The Eagles' usage of Howard during training camp and the preseason games signaled that he would make they team, so it's a mild surprise that he didn't, though it was right move. Running back is a position the team could target on waivers.
Wide receiver (5): DeVonta Smith, Jalen Reagor, Quez Watkins, Greg Ward, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside
Cuts (4): Travis Fulgham, John Hightower, Marken Michel, Andre Patton
Fulgham's ascent from practice squad guy, to surprise star player, to back to the bench, to competing for a starting job, to training camp cut, was a wild roller coaster ride.
Tight end (4): Dallas Goedert, Zach Ertz, Tyree Jackson, Jack Stoll
Cuts (1): Richard Rodgers
The fact that the Eagles kept four tight ends — and Rodgers wasn't even one of them — leads me to believe that Ertz will still be dealt before the start of the season.
Offensive line (10): Jordan Mailata, Isaac Seumalo, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks, Lane Johnson, Landon Dickerson, Jack Driscoll, Nate Herbig, Andre Dillard, Brett Toth
Cuts (4): Sua Opeta, Kayode Awosika, Le'Raven Clark, Ross Pierschbacher
No surprises here, other than that the Eagles were able to trade Matt Pryor for a draft pick upgrade.
Defensive line (9): Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Derek Barnett, Josh Sweat, Ryan Kerrigan, Milton Williams, Tarron Jackson, Marlon Tuipulotu
Cuts (4): Hassan Ridgeway, Raequan Williams, JaQuan Bailey, Matt Leo
The Eagles placed T.Y. McGill on the COVID list, which is why he's not listed above.
Linebacker (7): Eric Wilson, Alex Singleton, T.J. Edwards, Shaun Bradley, Patrick Johnson, Genard Avery, Davion Taylor
Cuts (2): JaCoby Stevens, Rashad Smith
No surprises here. The team will seek to bring Stevens back to the practice squad. Also, expect Taylor to land on short-term IR.
Cornerback (5): Darius Slay, Steve Nelson, Avonte Maddox, Zech McPhearson, Josiah Scott
Cuts (3): Craig James, Michael Jacquet, Kevon Seymour
If Slay gets hurt, this group is in trouble.
Safety (4): Anthony Harris, Rodney McLeod, K'Von Wallace, Marcus Epps
Cuts (4): Elijah Riley, Andrew Adams, Grayland Arnold, Blake Countess
Like running back above, safety is a position the team could look to add talent on the waiver wire.
Specialists (3): Jake Elliott, Arryn Siposs, Rick Lovato
Cuts (0)
The specialists were running unopposed.
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