Getting to 53 is Tougher than Cutting to 53 After Eagles Lay an Egg vs. Dolphins
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - The bottom of the Eagles’ roster is a little murkier than usual with Tuesday’s cut down to 53 looming.
Some of that is just changes in the league that has liberalized roster rules and less-restrictive injured reserve policies and an expanded 16-man practice squad that allows up to six veterans to get into that mix.
Maximizing each and every roster spot is something Howie Roseman takes seriously and there are sure to be surprise moves, whether it’s another August trade, a waiver-wire pickup or two, and a few surprise cuts.
No bubble player helped his cause during a 48-10 drubbing at the hands of Miami in the preseason finale.
Two recent draft picks – Davion Taylor and K’Von Wallace – have been trending in a negative direction recently and that only sped up in the embarrassing setback. Meanwhile, two 2022 rookies – tight end Grant Calcaterra and SAM linebacker – Kyron Johnson have shown little this summer.
With 33 players not dressed and virtually all of the expected major contributors for Nick Sirianni sitting out the rout, Wallace led the scaled-back secondary group that was dressed onto the field, seemingly a positive sign but that quickly evaporated faster than a Tyreek Hill 40-yard dash when the home-run hitter ran by Mac McCain before encountering Wallace, the last line of defense.
A five-yard cushion was eaten up in an instant with the only thing missing being the trademarked Hill deuces sign.
If the former Kansas City star is even he’s leavin’ and Wallace found out the hard way, allowing a 51-yard gain on the first offensive play of the game, limited from a should-be TD by a poor Tua Tagovailoa throw.
Post-game, Wallace was all beaten up as well with ice on every part of his right arm like a starting pitcher that threw 170-or-so pitches in the 1970s.
Taylor started out camp like a whirlwind and has since come back down the earth, clearly behind starters T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White, as well as rookie Nakobe Dean, who was removed early last night as Taylor kept stacking up less-than-stellar plays because Philadelphia needed a body out there.
Calcaterra showed his pass-catching skills and his blocking deficiencies plus some chemistry issues on a pick-six by Reid Sinnett tied to all the time missed in the preseason due to a hamstring injury while Johnson got ghosted by Dolphins third-string QB Skylar Thompson with a chance to make a play.
In the end, perhaps Roseman and Sirianni just flush this one because getting to 53 would be difficult if you based it on Saturday night, not cutting down to 53.
Here are my thoughts on what Philadelphia should do for the initial 53:
QB (2) - Jalen Hurts, Gardner Minshew
-Reid Sinnett did nothing to assume you couldn’t get him through waivers and onto the practice squad.
RB (3) - Miles Sanders, Kenny Gainwell, Boston Scott
-If you are going to flush the finale with the negative things don’t make a big deal over Jason Huntley’s 67-yard run. No one doubts Huntley’s speed and he was boxed in if not for incredibly poor technique by two Dolphins' third-team defenders, hardly enough to erase his pedestrian summer as a whole.
WR (5) - A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins, Zach Pascal, Jalen Reagor
- Until Reagor is traded the door remains closed on someone like Deon Cain. Greg Ward is interesting as a potential punt returner and steady presence but his toe injury has put him out of sight, out of mind.
TE (3) - Dallas Goedert, Jack Stoll, Grant Calcaterra
-The Eagles love Calcaterra’s upside as a receiver and will try to get him up to speed as a blocker.
OL (10) - Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Isaac Seumalo, Jack Driscoll, Cam Jurgens, Andre Dillard, Sua Opeta, Jack Anderson
-The deepest part of the team. Opera was a team captain on Saturday night so that says a lot while Jack Andreson’s impressive versatility buys him the final spot.
DE (4) - Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, Tarron Jackson
-The easiest prediction outside the specialists.
DT (5) - Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Jordan Davis, Milton Williams, Marlon Tuipulotu
-My personal belief is that Marvin Wilson is better than Tuipulotu but the latter has been much improved and seems to be the organizational favorite.
Overhang (3) - Haason Reddick, Patrick Johnson, Kyron Johnson
-The Eagles will hold onto Kyron Johnson for now, hoping the athleticism starts to click from a football perspective.
Off-ball LB (5) - T.J. Edwards, Kyzir White, Nakobe Dean, Davion Taylor, Shaun Bradley
-This is too many off-ball LBs and perhaps the Eagles try to move Taylor but they shouldn’t release him.
CB (5) - Darius Slay, James Bradberry, Avonte Maddox, Zech McPhearson, Josh Jobe
-Jobe did enough to outlast the failing second-year corners: McCain, Kary Vincent, and Tay Gowan despite a late elbow injury.
S (5) - Marcus Epps, Anthony Harris, Jaquiski Tartt, Josiah Scott, K'Von Wallace
-Just a hunch that the Eagles will defer to Tartt’s veteran status as an insurance policy.
Specialists (3) - Jake Elliott, Arryn Siposs, Rick Lovato
-Keep an eye on the wink-wink Lovato cut for a few days if the Eagles need a roster spot.
PS (16) - QB Reid Sinnett; RB Jason Huntley; DB Andre Chachere; WR Deon Cain; WR Devon Allen; WR Britain Covey; TE Noah Togiai; OL Josh Sills; OL Kayode Awosika; OL LeRaven Clark; DT Marvin Wilson; LB Christian Elliss; CB Kary Vincent; CB Mac McCain; CB Mario Goodrich; Reed Blankenship
IPP: Matt Leo (IPP exemption)
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Sports. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talker Jody McDonald, every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com and JAKIBSports.com. You can reach John at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
