Eagles Cuts Deliver Three Surprises

Cutdown day always has a a few surprises, and here are my three

PHILADELPHIA – Cutdown day always comes with its share of surprises, and so it was for the Eagles.

My top three were:

Josh Sills and the UDFAs. Did anybody have Sills on their mock 53-man roster? Kudos, if so. None of the Eagles daily beat writers did.

The offensive lineman, though, impressed enough and won the spot over Jack Anderson, a lineman some of the beat writers had on their 53-man roster. The inclusion of Sills gives the Eagles 10 offensive lineman. Usually on game day, only seven are active.

It feels like one too many, but offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland carries weight in this organization and if he wants 10, 10 it shall be.

Perhaps Sills’ ability to develop as a tackle factored in as well, because, right now, a big reason Andre Dillard is still on the roster is that the Eagles don’t have a backup to Jordan Mailata that they feel comfortable with should something happen to him.

That two others – CB Josh Jobe and S Reed Blankenship - also made the cut is somewhat of a surprise.

GM Howie Roseman gave a plausible explanation for it. Certainly, much of it had to do with the talent and upside of the three, but so did a draft that saw the Eagles take just five players after trades cut down what was supposed to be a 10-player haul.

Keeping three UDFAs is like having three more draft picks.

Jalen Reagor is still on the roster. The Eagles tried to move the former first-round pick, but nothing came to fruition.

As a fifth WR, Reagor's value is mostly as a punt returner and the Eagles could have gone with an undrafted free agent, probably Britain Covey. Or, with Reagor being dealt, perhaps Deon Cain is on the roster.

The Eagles will try to bring Cain back to the practice squad for another season there, but there’s always the chance another team likes what they saw from him and add him to their 53-man roster.

Either way, Reagor presented a logjam at the position, but there was no way Roseman was going to release him, and his asking price was evidently too high for other teams. A source said the GM was asking for a fourth-round pick with conditions that it could elevate the pick to a third-rounder.

Things could change before the season opener on Sept. 11, but, right now, Reagor will handle punt returns and be the fifth receiver.

Anthony Harris released. It’s not like the veteran safety was any great shakes. He’s probably average at this stage of his career, but he is still a good locker room presence and a good guy to have on a team.

Roseman said the conversation with Harris, telling him he was being released, was the hardest.

“I think that was one that the two of us were not really looking forward to, but what a pro he is, and like everything he does, he handles everything gracefully,” said the GM. “We felt like since there was a possibility that his role had changed from when we had signed him, that because we were looking at options, he also deserved to kind of look at options himself. 

"Obviously, you don't want to close any doors on anyone or anything right now at this time.”

That sounds like there could be a door open for Harris to return in some capacity, and perhaps that might be a player who goes on Reserve/Injured such as Jobe, who is wearing an elbow brace at practice.

Or he returns after Week 1 when his contract isn't guaranteed.

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.