The Philadelphia Eagles have played three preseason games already this month, so it was time for Andy Reid and Co. to make some decisions regarding the makeup of their roster in anticipation of Saturday’s 80-man roster deadline.
With 90 players participating in training camp, the Eagles were forced to cut ten guys on Saturday. Here is a look at the unlucky group:
| Pos. | Name | Previous Team | Preseason Note (via Bo Wulf) |
|---|---|---|---|
| WR | Elvis Akpla | Montana State | Rookie free agent known for amazing YouTube highlight catch. |
| WR | Brian Hernandez | Washington Redskins | Former UFL player; added during pre-season. Also was in Skins’ camp. |
| WR | McKay Jacobson | BYU | Signed by team as rookie free agent. Too much WR depth on roster. |
| WR | Tiger Jones | Philadelphia Soul | Added after stellar season with AFL’s Philadelphia Soul. |
| G | Alfred McCullough | Alabama | Rookie FA who was part of Alabama’s BCS National Championship team. |
| OT | Thomas Welch | St. Louis Rams | Claimed off waivers earlier in offseason, got to play 2nd-team RT vs CLE. |
| DE | Xavier Brown | Philadelphia Soul | Former Arena League standout added during camp. |
| CB | Kevin Thomas | Indianapolis Colts | Acquired in trade with Colts during Camp. Tall-framed CB couldn’t make impact. |
| S | Tom Nelson | Cincinnati Bengals | Was making push for roster spot until he suffered ankle injury against Pats. |
| S | Wade Bonner | Mississippi State | College teammate of Fletcher Cox who made camp roster after tryout. |
As you can see, there weren’t many surprises on the roster with the above players make little to no impact during either the preseason or training camp. The number of wide receivers cut, while abnormal, makes perfect sense seeing as the team has only six spots to fill but 14 candidates (including Akpla, Hernandez, Jacobson and Jones). With DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Jason Avant as locks, the space available simply called for the initial cuts to be filled with WRs.
Jones’ dream of playing the NFL was cut short (via mcall.com).
It’s unfortunate to see Jones out of the mix so early, seeing as he likely cost his AFL team the Arena Bowl with his absence.
The team also made heavy slashes in the defensive backfield, cutting two safeties and one cornerback. With three out of the four spots at safety already locked up—courtesy of O.J. Atogwe, Kurt Coleman and Nate Allen—the battle will likely come down to Jaiquawn Jarrett and Colt Anderson—when the latter comes off the PUP list, that is.
Then there was Kevin Thomas, the cornerback Philly acquired from Indianapolis in exchange for a seventh-round pick, Greg Lloyd and Moise Fokou. The 25-year old played poorly in camp while making little noise in the preseason, two ingredients that create a recipe for disaster.
What’s next? Reid must trim the roster to 75 by 4 PM on Monday and then present the final 53-man roster to the league by 9 PM on Friday. All told, the next seven days should be some of the most interesting of the entire football offseason.
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