Roster Week

[time2rock]

Roster Week

Posted: August 27th, 2023 | Author: Tommy Lawlor 

The preseason is over. Training Camp is over. The next order of business is choosing a 53-man roster and filling out the practice squad. Roster cuts must be made by 4pm on Tuesday. The Eagles have started the process of making cuts.

That leaves 30 more official cuts to go.

There are reports about other players being waived.

Jackson is the only one that surprises me. I thought he had a good preseason and had earned a roster spot. The argument against him is that he will turn 26 in November and is still a project. Normally by that age you are who you are. I give Jackson some flexibility on that because he’s made a position change and had some injury issues. I still think he’s worth keeping around.

The Eagles have a stud TE in Dallas Goedert. They have a blocker in Jack Stoll and a backup receiver in Grant Calcaterra. Those two combined for 16 catches last year. If you keep Jackson, when is he going to play and how do you use him? That’s not an easy question. I just hate to give up on a big guy who can run and has good hands. This is one of those good problems to have. Jackson is an interesting project and the Eagles are passing on him.

We got some good news on the injury front.

Goodrich is on the bubble for a roster spot so being healthy is crucial for him. Ojomo and Covey will be important role players this year so they want to practice to be ready for the regular season.

Quez Watkins came back recently so it will be important for him to get back to where he needs to be. Watkins had a good camp prior to his injury so the hope is that he’s going to be an improved player this season. As good as the offense was last year, Watkins can make that unit even better.

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I think this is a good point that we can overlook at times. The coaches see things we don’t because they spend so much time with the players. A couple of years ago the Eagles kept DT Marlon Tuipulotu despite him having a mediocre TC and looking bad in preseason games. The coaches liked his potential and felt he was worth keeping around. He’s turned into a valuable role player. That was a really smart decision.

I still think Siposs shouldn’t feel safe about keeping his job. He’s struggled for a while and really hurt the Eagles in some big games. That’s different than having a couple of bad practices.

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Howie Roseman and the pro personnel staff will have a busy week. They have to study the cuts made by the other 31 teams. They’ll be looking to see if there are any players they want to claim/sign. You never know when another team will cut someone loose that fits your scheme/roster.

Roseman will also be calling the other teams in the league to see who might be available in a trade. Last year a call like this led to CJ Gardner-Johnson becoming an Eagle. Roseman has legit interest in always improving the roster and is willing to make moves. He will take chances.

The staff also needs to figure out who they want on the practice squad. Most of those players will be guys the Eagles cut, but they could add a player or two from other teams. The scouts have studied preseason game tape for the other 31 teams. They also have the pre-draft scouting reports. There are some players the Eagles will have interest in. They can talk to the players to see if they’re interested in coming to Philly, but there aren’t any guarantees.

The Eagles do as good a job as any team in the league at adding to the roster at this time of the year. It will be interesting to see if they can find another good player or two to add to the mix.

http://igglesblitz.com/2023/08/roster-week/