August 29, 2026
Philadelphia Eagles training camp is over, and the Birds have played their three preseason games. With cuts looming over the weekend, let's project the final 53 one last time.
Quarterback (3): Jalen Hurts, Tanner McKee, Cole Payton
Man, I just don't know what to do here. McKee looks bad, Andy Dalton looks bad, and Payton barely played at all this preseason.
I have Hurts, McKee, and Payton on, with no confidence at all. Your guess is as good as mine. 🤷♂️
Running back (3): Saquon Barkley, Tank Bigsby, Will Shipley
Saquon, Tank, and Shipley are all locks. Dameon Pierce looked like he would challenge Shipley for a roster spot early in camp, but he got hurt and Shipley started stacking good days, so that threat ended pretty quickly.
Pierce did have a good final preseason game, but that was probably too little, too late.
Carson Steele also showed some ability as a receiver in two preseason games, but there just isn't room on the roster. I'm sure the Eagles would like to have both Pierce and Steele back on the practice squad.
Wide receiver (5): DeVonta Smith, Dontayvion Wicks, Makai Lemon, Darius Cooper, Marquise Brown
I thought Elijah Moore had a solid camp and is worthy of a spot on an NFL roster. But ultimately, I don't think he possesses a standout trait that the Eagles don't already have among the five players I have making the roster above.
Tight end (3): Dallas Goedert, Johnny Mundt, Cameron Latu
You may notice that one big name that is omitted here is Eli Stowers, who was the Eagles' second-round pick in the 2026 draft. As noted in our rookie progress reports, even though Stowers was a high pick he was always something of a project, and would likely need refinement before he had any kind of meaningful role in the offense.
But even as a project, Stowers did not have a good camp, as a receiver or as a blocker. There's a lot of work to do there, and I don't think he's playable at the moment. Maybe the light will come on for him as the season progresses? We'll see.
Stowers missed the last two practices and final game with a hamstring injury, which I believe will give the Eagles an opportunity to place him on IR, with a designation to return. He'll have to miss at least the first four games of the season if that's the route the Eagles go. But so what?
I do think tight end is a spot the Eagles will add to from the outside, whether that's signing a street free agent (like Zach Ertz, for example), or trading for one.
Offensive line (10): Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Tyler Steen, Lane Johnson, Markel Bell, Drew Kendall, Fred Johnson, Willie Lampkin, Micah Morris
The five starters, Markel Bell, and Drew Kendall were always locks. Lampkin became a lock with his play throughout camp, and Morris showed enough as a developmental player that the team won't risk putting him through waivers.
The one question mark here is Fred Johnson, who did not have a very good camp, but who has played an important role for the team competently enough each of the last two seasons. His standing as the swing tackle is compromised by the presence of Bell, who looks good enough to handle those responsibilities as a rookie.
I lean toward not overthinking it, and assuming that Fred has built up enough trust in the staff that he'll stick, and Howie Roseman always goes heavy along the O-line.
One player who I think the team likes is John Ojukwu, but he has been on the Titans' practice squad each of the last three seasons. He's been waived four times in his career and never been claimed. The Eagles can probably waive him and get him back on the practice squad.
Edge defenders (6): Jonathan Greenard, Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt, Arnold Ebiketie, A.J. Epenesa, Joshua Weru
The question here is whether Greenard will start the regular season on the PUP list or not. He's making $25,240,000 in cash this season, or just shy of $1.5 million per game. If there's any hope that he can play at all during the first four games of the season, my sense is that the Eagles will want him out there. So I have him on the 53.
The other name to watch here is Weru, who showed enough raw athletic traits during the preseason that I think he would be claimed if the Eagles waived him.
Interior defensive line (6): Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Moro Ojomo, Byron Young, Ty Robinson, Uar Bernard
The first five guys are locks.
When the Eagles drafted Bernard, they knew full well that he was going to be a looooong-term project. He showed improvement throughout camp, which is probably the only bar he needed to clear. He should be on the team.
Linebacker (5): Zack Baun, Jihaad Campbell, Jeremiah Trotter, Smael Mondon, Chance Campbell
Vic Fangio called this the deepest positional group on the team, and he flat-out told us to have Chance Campbell on our 53-man roster projections. So, I'm inclined to just believe him. (Campbell also showed some real ability this summer.)
Cornerback (6): Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Riq Woolen, Mac McWilliams, Kelee Ringo, Jonathan Jones
McWilliams had a rough final preseason game, but Fangio has praised him multiple times the last couple of weeks.
The light seems to have come on to some degree with Ringo, whose awareness is growing in his fourth season.
I also have a spot for Jones, a highly experienced vet who should be back from injury soon.
Safety (3): Andrew Mukuba, Marcus Epps, Michael Carter
DeJean will play safety in the base defense, so we're kind of keeping 3.5 safeties here. I really wanted to put Maximus Pulley and/or Kapena Gushiken on the 53, but couldn't justify it. So we're going light at safety.
Specialists (3): Jake Elliott, Braden Mann, Rocco Underwood
I was fairly convinced through most of the summer that Underwood was not long for the roster, but I thought he improved throughout camp.
Also, my previous assumption was that the Eagles would sign or claim a long snapper cut by one of the half dozen teams currently carrying two of them. But when I took a closer look at the two long snappers on each of those six teams, I found significant warts. I now think Underwood sticks.
Injured reserve, designated for return (2): TE Eli Stowers, S Cole Wisniewski
Practice squad (16)
Follow Jimmy & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @JimmyKempski | @thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
Add Jimmy's RSS feed to your feed reader
