Elijah Holyfield, Joe Ostman in Line for NFL Debuts
Two players are staring at the very real possibility of making their NFL debuts for the Eagles when they meet the Browns in Cleveland on Sunday.
Defensive end Joe Ostman and running back Elijah Holyfield were elevated from the practice squad along with tight end Caleb Wilson and defensive tackle T.Y. McGill on Saturday.
Ostman and Holyfield will serve as COVID-19 replacements with defensive end Vinny Curry and running back Corey Clement still on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.
Holyfield, who has good size at 5-10, 215, joined the Eagles after being signed off the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad in the week leading up to last year’s playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks. He was inactive for that game, though.
Despite a strong training camp, Holyfield has languished on the practice squad, waiting patiently after the Eagles first turned to Adrian Killins, who has since been waived.
The Eagles needed a running back because Corey Clement remained on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.
Holyfield likely won’t get much playing time on offense with Miles Sanders in line for the bulk of the work as the Eagles have transitioned away from a running-back-by-committee approach.
Boston Scott and Jason Huntley are the other running backs. Huntley hasn’t been a factor all season long, playing just 11 offensive snaps and getting three carries.
As for Ostman, there could be an opportunity to work into the defensive end rotation with Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, and Josh Sweat.
Ostman is a study in perseverance. He joined the Eagles as an undrafted rookie in 2018. A year later and while enjoying a strong camp, Ostman tore his ACL.
Offensive tackle Jordan Mailata has credited Ostman for making him a better player in practice, with Ostman working tirelessly on scout teams to prove he belongs in the league. Now, he may get a chance to show that in a real game for the first time.
In other news, the Eagles did not activate tight end Zach Ertz, who is eligible to return from IR after the team activated him into a 21-day practice window earlier in the week. Head coach Doug Pederson certainly sounded on Friday that it wasn’t going to happen, and it did not.
Also, the team activated safety Marcus Epps from the COVID list and announced that senior defensive assistant Jeremiah Washburn will miss coaching in his second straight game. The Eagles will also be without two other assistants, quarterback coach/passing game coordinator Press Taylor and receiver coach Aaron Moorehead.
The Browns activated offensive tackle Jack Conklin and kicker Cody Parkey from the COVID list but announced on Friday they will be without defensive end standout Myles Garrett.
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