Eagles Today

Eagles Cutdown Tracker to 53-Man Roster

The Eagles need to get down to the NFL-Mandated 53 by Tuesday at 4 p.m.

SI Editorial

Eagles Cutdown Tracker to 53-Man Roster
Eagles Cutdown Tracker to 53-Man Roster /

The Eagles began cutting their roster to 53 players on Sunday morning with the release of five players.

The path to the final 53 will be chronicled here with our tracker, to make it easier to follow along.

AUG. 31, 4 p.m. - Eagles announced their moves to get to the 53:

Released S Andrew Adams, T Le'Raven Clark, RB Jordan Howard, DT Hassan Ridgeway, TE Richard Rodgers, and CB Kevon Seymour.

Waived S Grayland Arnold, G/T Kayode Awosika, WR Travis Fulgham, WR John Hightower, RB Jason Huntley, CB Michael Jacquet, CB Craig James, DE Matt Leo, G Sua Opeta, WR Andre Patton, C/G Ross Pierschbacher, S Elijah Riley, LB JaCoby Stevens, and DT Raequan Williams.

Placed S Blake Countess on the Injured Reserve list and DT T.Y. McGill on the Reserve/COVID list.

AUG. 31, 3:02 p.m. - The Eagles have released veteran safety Andrew Adams, according to NBCSports Philadelphia. Adams' release is likely good news for second-year safety Elijah Riley as both players for vying for a backup safety/significant special teams role.

AUG. 31, 2:47 p.m. - The Eagles have waived 2020 fifth-round pick John Hightower. The speedy WR didn't have a great summer and he's the final domino to fall at the position at least to start. The initial WR group for the Eagles seems to be DeVonta Smith, Jalen Reagor, Quez Watkins, Greg Ward and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside.

AUG. 31, 2:10 p.m. - Travis Fulgham has been released, The WR was outplayed in camp by J.J. Arcega-Whiteside. JJAW has not yet officially made the team, but this is a step in that direction. The release was first reported by NFL Media's Mike Garafolo.

If another team does not claim Fulgham, look for him back on the practice squad.

AUG. 31, 11:48 a.m - The Browns are expected to add former Eagles training camp QB Nick Mullens to their practice squad once the 53-man rosters are set later today. Mullens was released by the Eagles after the trade for Gardner Minshew on Saturday.

AUG. 31, 11:00 a.m. - The Eagles have traded OL Matt Pryor, along with a 2022 seventh-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, to the Indianapolis Colts for a 2022 sixth-round pick.

AUG. 31, 10:35 a.m.  - The NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero are reporting that the Houston Texans are not expected to trade embattled and disgruntled quarterback Deshaun Watson before the 4 P.M. ET cutdown day deadline.

The Eagles have been one of the teams looking into Watson's legal situation as due diligence in a potential trade for the star quarterback. Watson, however, has a no-trade clause in his contract and is not prepared to waive it to play in Philadelphia, according to multiple NFL sources.

AUG. 31, 9 a.m. - SI.com Eagle Maven confirmed an earlier report from NJ Advance Media that DE Matt Leo has been waived. As part of the NFL's International Pathway Program, the former Iowa State player from Australia will return to the practice squad provided he passes waivers, which seems a foregone conclusion.

AUG. 31, 8:45 a.m. - Per NJ Advance Media, defensive tackle Raequan Williams has been released. An UDFA last year, Williams saw some time in 2020 but became expendable when the Eagles upgraded their defensive tackle group by drafting Marlon Tuitupolu and Milton Williams, who can move inside and out.

T.Y. McGill also had a strong camp, notching three sacks in three games, including two against the Jets.

AUG. 31, 7:30 a.m. - The Eagles are waiving RB Jason Huntley, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Huntley did not help his cause when he suffered a rib injury midway through camp and missed the last two exhibition games. The move leaves the Eagles with four running backs on the roster at the moment - Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, Jordan Howard, and Kenny Gainwell - a number they are probably comfortable with keeping.

Jason Huntley
Jason Huntley in preseason opener vs. Steelers / USA Today

AUG. 31, 6 a.m. - SI.com Eagle Maven confirmed an earlier report from the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero that cornerback and special teams standout Craig James is being waived. James missed much of camp with a foot injury, but prior to that was putting some practices together on the corner. It's an interesting move for a team that doesn't have much experience on the outside other than Darius Slay and Steve Nelson.

AUG. 30, 8:49 p.m. - The Eagles are waiving WR Andre Patton, a Deleware native and Rutgers product, per Matt Lombardo of FanSided. Patton was a late arrival in training camp and had a history with head coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen when all were with the Chargers.

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Aug. 30, 8:12 pm - The Eagles will be waiving offensive lineman Ross Pierschbacher, per the NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. A former fifth-round pick of the Washington Football Team, Pierschbacher belongs in the NFL but the offensive line is easily the deepest position group on the team. Once Landon Dickerson was activated from the NFI list and essentially guaranteed a 53-man roster spot, any slight chance for Pierschbacher evaporated.

AUG. 30, 7:55 pm - The Eagles are waiving second-year CB Mike Jacquet, per Dave Zangaro of NBCSports Philadelphia. Jacquet, an UDFA in 2020, was vying to be the fourth outside corner behind Darius Slay, Steve Nelson, and rookie Zech McPhearson. He's likely to be brought to the practice squad if he clears waivers.

AUG. 30, 1:35 pm - New Eagles QB Gardner Minshew is wearing No. 10. The third-year signal caller had No. 15 in Jacksonville but that number is retired in Philadelphia for Steve Van Buren.

AUG. 30, 1:30 p.m. - The Eagles activated rookie second-round pick Landon Dickerson off the NFI list before Monday's practice, and activated veteran safety Rodney McLeod off the PUP list, a clear indication both players will be on the team's initial 53-man roster.

AUG. 30, 10:30 a.m. - The Eagles are shopping depth on the offensive line and at linebacker in advance of Tuesday's cutdown to 53, according to SI.com's Albert Breer.

The O-Line news comes as little surprise as you can make a case that Jeff Stoutland's entire room, which is currently 15 deep, belongs on an NFL roster in what is generally an O-Line deficient league.

The LB news is a little more interesting because that position was not regarded as a strength coming into training camp but the Eagles are clearly trying to find a path to keeping their younger players like draft picks JaCoby Stevens and Patrick Johnson.

Here's what Breer had to say:

"The Eagles are another team taking calls on offensive linemen — their issues of the last few years staying healthy up front have actually created a situation where they have experienced backups. Philly’s also discussed dealing away some linebacker depth."

AUG. 30, 8:00 a.m. - Former Eagles assistant coach Ryan Paganetti and former Eagles OL Barrett Brooks talk about their experiences with cutdown day on BIRDS 365:

AUG. 29, 10:25 a.m - The first five were cut: TE and Chester Springs, PA native Cary Angeline, undrafted rookie DE JaQuan Bailey, hard-working RB Elijah Holyfield, WR Marken Michel, and LB Rashad Smith.

Angeline went to Downingtown East High School and started his college career at Southern Cal before transferring to North Carolina State. He was a late arrival after injuries took out Tyree Jackson and Jason Croom and Angeline provided valuable reps in getting to the finish line of training camp.

Bailey is a UDFA out of Iowa State who is a little undersized and might need a year to add strength in an NFL weight room. He had difficulty setting the edge but could be a candidate for the expanded 16-man practice squads.

Holyfield is the son of the former heavyweight boxing champion of the world Evander Holyfield and has stuck around since being brought in for the 2019 playoff run. An extremely hard worker, Holyfield often sets the tone for the RBs when it comes to practice but really never flashed a trait to stand out from the crowd.

Elijah Holyfield runs for daylight against the Jets
Elijah Holyfield / USA Today

Michel was on his third tour with the Eagles as a former CFL star who is a pretty good route runner. He was brought back to take the reps of Michael Walker after the latter went down with an injury.

Marken Michel heads up field after a catch against the New York Jets
Marken Michel / USA Today

Smith is an undersized and athletic LB who struggled when it came to run support as evidenced by the team's inability to handle the preseason ground games of Pittsburgh, New England, and the NY Jets.

AUG. 28, 10:10 a.m. - Eagles trade a conditional sixth-round 2022 draft pick to Jacksonville for quarterback Gardner Minshew and release QB Nick Mullens.

MORE: Eagles trade for Gardner Minshew.

MORE: Examining the Gardner Minshew deal.

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