Eagles sign former 3rd-round pick to practice squad

[time2rock]

Eagles sign former 3rd-round pick to practice squad

 

 

 

Reuben Frank

EAGLES INSIDER

The Eagles signed linebacker Davion Taylor to their practice squad Thursday, a league source told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Dave Zangaro.

Taylor returned to the Eagles one day after they released the former third-round pick from the 53-man roster.

Taylor, who played well in six regular-season starts last year, was a surprise cut Wednesday after making the initial roster on Tuesday, but the Eagles needed a spot on the 53 for quarterback Ian Book, who they were awarded on a waiver claim.

After a quick start, Taylor struggled in the preseason and had a very tough time in the preseason finale against the Dolphins in Miami this past Saturday.

Earlier Thursday, head coach Nick Sirianni indicated that he hoped to bring Taylor back, presumably on the practice squad. 

"We still want Davion to be a part of this organization, we’ll see what happens,” Sirianni said. "He’s done some good things and made some good plays for it, and hopefully that’s not the last time we work with him.”

Later in the day, Taylor cleared waivers, making him an unrestricted free agent, and by late afternoon he was back with the team that made him the 103rd pick in the 2020 draft.

Taylor, 24, was frequently injured during his two seasons with the Eagles. He played in 12 games with one start as a rookie and nine games with six starts last year before a knee injury ended his season. 

He has 51 career tackles, one tackle for loss, two forced fumbles in 282 career defensive snaps. He’s also played 209 special teams snaps, mostly his rookie year.

With Taylor not currently on the active roster, the Eagles have four off-ball linebackers — T.J. Edwards, Kyzir White, Nakobe Dean and Shaun Bradley.

The only other linebacker on the Eagles’ practice squad is Christian Ellis, who missed significant time in training camp with a hamstring injury but is healthy now. Ellis, 23, played at Idaho.

The Eagles’ practice squad is now full at 16 players plus Matt Leo, who has an international exception (for the third year).

Those on the practice squad earn a minimum of $11,500 per week. They can be elevated to the game-day roster up to three times per year, and they earn a minimum-wage game check of $39,167 for those games.

It’s rare for a player the Eagles drafted as high as Taylor to pop up on the practice squad. Since the inception of the NFL practice squad in 1989, the only other player the Eagles drafted in the first three rounds who was at any point on their practice squad was defensive end Daniel Te’o-Nesheim, a third-round pick out of Washington in 2010. 

Te’o-Nesheim was on the Eagles’ practice squad from Sept. 6-Nov. 22 of 2011 before he was signed by the Buccaneers to their active roster, and he wound up spending three seasons with Tampa. 

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/eagles-sign-davion-taylor-practice-squad

[UK_EaglesFan89]

I mean ultimately I guess it worked out as he's back on the PS... But really I don't know why they made space on the 53 for Book. That seems a strange one to me.