Eagles signing Tariq Woolen puts writing on the wall for these veteran cornerbacks on current roster

When the Philadelphia Eagles signed Tariq Woolen back in March, the move significantly bolstered their cornerback room -- a position that already had two All-Pro players with Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean.

Adding Woolen to the mix made the Eagles secondary even stronger. The Eagles have an outside cornerback that can line up next to Mitchell, allowing DeJean to stay in the slot. Ina base defense, DeJean can move to safety while Mitchell and Woolen occupy the boundry positions.

The top three cornerbacks on the Eagles roster are Mitchell, DeJean, and Woolen. That much is clear.

Signing Woolen had a ripple effect on the rest of the roster. The Eagles already had a bunch of young cornerbacks on the roster thanks to players they drafted over the past few seasons, along with a well-talked about competition last season in finding their CB2.

Ringo struggled in coverage with penalties, having five defensive pass interference flags called on him last season. He allowed just a 47.9 passer rating in coverage as the primary defender, as opposing quarterbacks had just a 40.0% passer rating targeting him. Ringo didn't allow any pass touchdowns, but didn't have any interceptions either.

Bennett struggled to get on the field as a result of the cornerback competition, as the 2023 fourth-round pick. He played just 92 snaps last season, committing three pass interference penalties.

While Bennett was acquired in August, he was brought in to be a serious competitor for the CB2 job. That never articulated.

Signing Woolen makes the Eagles cornerback room deeper. The Eagles already have Mitchell, DeJean, and Woolen -- while also restructuring Michael Carter's deal this offseason. Carter can both play cornerback and safety, so there should be a roster spot available for him.

That's four cornerbacks that appear to be roster locks. Where does that leave Ringo and Bennett?

Ringo has more leeway than Bennett since he is an excellent special teams player and that's invaluable for a roster. While Ringo is in the final year of his rookie deal and hasn't developed as a cornerback like the Eagles wanted, his special teams excellence warrants a roster spot.

A poor training camp could change things, however.

Bennett faces an uphill batter to make the roster. He needs a strong summer to stick around, and there might not be a spot on the roster for him. The Eagles are still developing 2025 fourth-round pick Mac McWilliams and signed veteran Jonathan Jones in free agency.

Jones is also on a one-year deal, so he'll be competing for a roster spot. The Eagles may want a veteran in the room, similar to Jackson last year. Unlike Jackson, Jones won't be competing for a starting spot. He can also play the slot if the Eagles prefer to use him there.

This spells trouble for McWilliams too, who was essentially a redshirt player last year on defense and special teams. The Eagles didn't have McWilliams on the field much, and would need to see more from him this summer in order to keep him on the 53-man roster. Being a fourth-round pick does have merit, as the Eagles may not be willing to part ways so soon.

Bennett, Ringo, Jones, and McWilliams are essentially competing for two spots -- and Ringo should have one of them locked up. The pressure will be on all these players to make the roster this summer, in which is one of the quieter roster battles in minicamp and training camp.