'Money's Worth!' Eagles' Arryn Siposs Roster Move a Week 1 Winner

The Philadelphia Eagles' get more than their money's worth from Arryn Siposs in season opener.

Despite not being retained when the Eagles set their first 53-man roster of the season, practice-squad player Arryn Siposs nevertheless found a way to make a significant contribution to their season-opening win on Sunday.

He boomed four big punts in as many attempts, finishing with a gross average of 49.3 yards and a net of 44.0 despite his first one being returned 21 yards in a 25-20 triumph over the New England Patriots.

His next two punts, including a 54-yarder in the second quarter that flipped the field, netted zero return yards. His fourth resulted in a fair catch.

Siposs also was the holder for the crucial field goals Jake Elliott delivered from 32, 56, 48 and 51 yards.

These feats were thanks in large part to liberal practice-squad rules that were put in place during the COVID-19 Pandemic and stayed in place afterward because it gives every team more salary cap flexibility and allows personnel managers to load up on positions of strength and go extremely light on positions of weakness like never before.

For example, the Eagles not only didn't keep Siposs, who was their punter all of last season, they didn't keep any punters. They also didn't keep their best punt returner, Britain Covey.

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Not a problem. Both were brought back to the practice squad and were in uniform thanks to game-day elevations when the team needed them most.

Of course, the Eagles can't keep doing this. Players are allowed to be elevated just three times in a season. After that, teams must place them on their active roster to be able to use them in games.

But this newfound flexibility, not available before COVID, has allowed owners to pay experienced players like Siposs and Covey less than what they would have had teams been forced to operate under the old rules, which would have essentially required them to have those players on the roster (at a much higher salary) from the start.

In the meantime, the Eagles also get to take a longer look at an intriguing prospect like wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus, who for now is on the roster with a salary of $1.2 million. All this while going heavy on their defensive front with a roster imbalance (just three off-ball linebackers and four wide receivers) that would have been considered too extreme to operate with before 2020.

But back to Siposs. ... He might have played his way back onto the active roster for good with the way he performed on Sunday coming off an underwhelming 2022 season and a shaky showing in the Super Bowl.

The Eagles probably want to see him stack some more of these. But at least they have the means to do so for two more games before having to throw extra money at him.

In the end, if he's added to the roster for good, he'll still likely earn less in 2023 than he did in 2022 while presumably giving them more. More for less is always a good business model.