Eagles Reduce Roster to 70 Players After More Cuts
PHILADELPHIA – There were more wide-open spaces on the Philadelphia Eagles practice fields early Sunday morning when the team returned to work three days after playing its final exhibition game.
Media was permitted to watch the first 20 minutes or so of the practice and there were several players who weren’t seen on the field, in addition to the seven players the Eagles officially announced.
As it stands, the Eagles have made their way down from 90 players to 70 players. They and every NFL team must be down to 53 players by Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Those players who were officially released were offensive tackles Brett Toth and Dennis Kelly, centers Josh Andrews and Cameron Tom, tight end Dan Arnold, and receiver Deon Cain. The team also placed offensive tackle Roderick Johnson on injured reserve.
Players who weren’t practicing, and assumed released, were:
- QB Ian Book
- WRs Jadon Haselwood, Freddie Swain, and Johnny King
- TE Tyree Jackson
- RB Kennedy Brooks
- OL Tyrese Robinson
- DT Marvin Wilson, Caleb Saunders, Olive Sagapolu, and Robert Cooper
- LB Quinton Bell and Tyree Maddox-Williams
"Obviously, this part of the year is the worst part of football," said tight end Dallas Goedert. "You get so close to a hundred guys or whatever it is and then you have to get down to 50, so you lose a lot of people you've become close with over the past year.
"You just reach out to them and let them know that whatever I can do to help them, whatever they need from me, I'm always here for them. They're a brother for life after they come in here."
In addition, running back Trey Sermon was not practicing.
Sermon managed just 30 yards on 16 carries in Thursday night’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, though he did score a touchdown.
Maddox-Williams played well on Thursday despite arriving just a few days earlier.
Some of the players released could be candidates for the practice squad. Brooks and Cain spent time there last year.
As for Andrews, Kelly, and Toth, they are vested veterans so they don’t have to clear waivers in order to return, should the Eagles keep players on the 53-man roster and then place them on injured reserve.
Sermon could be one that gets placed on IR if the Eagles want to keep him around, though he has more than two weeks to be ready for the season opener in New England against the Patriots on Sept. 10.
If someone gets placed on IR, the Eagles could bring one of the linemen should they opt to go that route.
Receiver Britain Covey (hamstring) and cornerback Mario Goodrich (ankle), who had been battling injuries, appeared to be practicing, as did defensive tackler Moroo Ojomo, who had missed time with a concussion.
Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.
Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.
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