Latest / Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast / The DiCecco Daily: Breaking Down Eagles 53 Man Roster

Transcript

The DiCecco Daily: Breaking Down Eagles 53 Man Roster · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Hey, what's happened? Everybody?
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: Welcome into this edition of to Checko Daily. It's editored
• 0:15
  to Checko and it has been a busy couple of days.
• 0:18
  And the Eagles now have their initial fifty three man
• 0:22
  rosters set. It's always subject to change, that's why it's
• 0:25
  called the initial fifty three. We'll get into all that
• 0:28
  and break that down as well as some of those transactions.
• 0:31
  But before we do, I have to say this, as
• 0:35
  a reporter for what I do, this is probably the toughest.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: Day of the year.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: You were reporting on thirty eight players losing their jobs.
• 0:47
  And while some may look at it on social media
• 0:50
  as they're scrolling as merely a transaction, at the end
• 0:54
  of the day, it's someone's job, so it's important to
• 0:56
  be mindful of that. Now, a lot of these players
• 1:00
  whose names you're gonna hear, who didn't make the cut
• 1:03
  will end up, in all likelihood staying with the Eagles
• 1:06
  in some capacity, and we'll start to get the wheels
• 1:10
  turned in there about who those players may be.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: But let's start with.
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: The fifty three at quarterback jaywhen Hurts, Tanner McKee, Sam Howe,
• 1:21
  who of course was acquired Sunday in a trade. General
• 1:26
  manager Howie Roseman said on Tuesday that the trade had
• 1:31
  nothing to do with the finger injury to Tanner McKee.
• 1:35
  That was a player they would have gotten that deal
• 1:37
  done either way. They're always looking to better the roster.
• 1:40
  They didn't have a viable option as the third quarterback
• 1:43
  in Kyle McCord. You can't go into the season with
• 1:45
  him as your third quarterback. With Tanner McKee banged up.
• 1:48
  Perhaps Kyle McCord surfaces on the practice squad, but the
• 1:52
  Eagles arguably have the strongest contingent of quarterbacks from one
• 1:57
  through three, and that's astute roster building Howie Roseman to
• 2:01
  add a player in how who gives them a unique
• 2:05
  look in practice. He is mobile, he can give you
• 2:08
  certain looks that maybe Tanner McKee can't.
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: And they have a really good balance within the three.
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: You have to feel pretty good if you're the Eagles
• 2:17
  about how that room has really taken shape. At running back,
• 2:21
  Saquon Barkley, Will Shipley, AJ Dillon. Not a whole lot
• 2:26
  to say there, but it's very clear and it should
• 2:29
  be to all of you that Will Shipley was and
• 2:32
  is the.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: Number two running back.
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: I announced that when the AJ Dillon signing was public immediately,
• 2:40
  Will Shipley's the two. He just gives you a different
• 2:43
  dynamic Offensively, can catch the football, the Eagles' most natural
• 2:47
  pass catching running back, can put unique stresses on defenses,
• 2:52
  has home run hitting ability, wiggle after the catch, and
• 2:54
  he's very decisive when he does catch the football. If
• 2:57
  you notice there's not a lot of dancing, he gets
• 2:59
  right up for you. That's a very good change of
• 3:02
  pace back to Sa Kwon Barkley in game, and that
• 3:06
  at Barkley we're to have to miss time. I think
• 3:08
  that's where Dylan could come in that between the tackles
• 3:10
  battering Ram who you already know can handle eighteen to
• 3:13
  twenty two carries. So that's a really good balance there
• 3:17
  that they have in that room, and I think each
• 3:21
  player offers a unique skill set that complement one another.
• 3:25
  Then at fullback they have Ben Van Sumern. That's not
• 3:28
  really a surprise to me. Van Sumron had sort of
• 3:31
  a quiet summer and Kevin Petulo went asked pretty much
• 3:35
  said yeah, I had something to do with him recovering
• 3:37
  from the knee injury. But the other part of it
• 3:40
  was they're not going to show everything that they're looking
• 3:43
  to do with Ben Van Sumer, different formations, how they're
• 3:46
  going to deploy him in a public practice setting. I
• 3:50
  do think that you might see a handful plays a
• 3:52
  game with Ben involved in it, and of course he's
• 3:55
  going to be a core special teamer. That's a no
• 3:58
  brainer there. At wide receiver AJ Brown, DeVante Smith, Johan Dotson,
• 4:03
  John Metchi. The third and rookie free agent wide receiver
• 4:07
  Darius Cooper from Tarlatan State. One of the best stories
• 4:11
  this summer, probably the best story this summer.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: I've said this time and time again.
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: There's many times, year after year you can go to
• 4:20
  a training camp and you'll see a wide receiver that's
• 4:22
  sort of unherlded and they make plays and they flash,
• 4:25
  but they're not able to sustain it and it doesn't
• 4:28
  typically carry over into the regular season or even through August.
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: In some cases.
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: Darius Cooper showed up every day, He made a play,
• 4:37
  every day. He proved that he belonged, regardless of who
• 4:40
  he was working with the third team to start the
• 4:42
  second team, the first team. He had a report with
• 4:45
  his quarterbacks. He found a way to make some splash
• 4:49
  plays or alway to get on the radar of Nick Sirianni,
• 4:51
  but then it became consistency on and off the field.
• 4:54
  He talked after the game Friday about you know, you
• 4:58
  have to worry about making sure you you're getting your
• 5:00
  rehab so that you're ready to go and you feel
• 5:03
  as good as you possibly can when.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: You go to the practice field.
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: Training camp is an everyday grind. It separates players who
• 5:10
  flash from those who are going to establish staying power.
• 5:15
  And I think Darius Cooper, coming from a small school,
• 5:18
  every day he answered the bell and he earned his
• 5:20
  spot on the fifty three man roster. Nick Sirianni on
• 5:24
  Tuesday spoke about Cooper's toughness and that he has certain
• 5:29
  qualities developmental qualities that suggest that he can be that
• 5:33
  blocking type of receiver that can do the dirty work.
• 5:36
  That was the word that he used, and that was
• 5:39
  an occupation previously held by Johnny Wilson, who, of course
• 5:43
  is out for the season with injuries.
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: To his knee and ankle.
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: I think Darius Cooper is going to be able to
• 5:49
  help the Eagles in different ways.
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: Could be on special teams, could be.
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: As a blocker, could be situationally as a pass catcher.
• 5:56
  But he's on this roster for a reason, and they
• 6:00
  were Eagles were wise not to expose him to waivers
• 6:03
  because you hear this every year. Don't cut so and so,
• 6:06
  because they're likely to be claimed. Well, in all actuality,
• 6:10
  about thirty to thirty five players, it's a very small
• 6:12
  percentage actually get claimed from all the teams who were
• 6:17
  doing their cuts, trimming at thirty eight players at a time,
• 6:21
  So a lot of these guys get lost, and you
• 6:23
  have to think a player would have to be awfully
• 6:27
  special for a team to be willing to claim that
• 6:30
  player who hasn't been in their system all offseason.
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: You have to get them up the.
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: Speed, and it's unclear when they would be ready to
• 6:37
  help you. So I think the notion that players who
• 6:40
  get cut will be claimed if they have a household
• 6:45
  name or they're a heralded college player. It doesn't happen
• 6:49
  all that frequently. But Darius Cooper was one that I
• 6:52
  think you could certainly make a case for because the
• 6:54
  secret is out that Bengals game, the first preseason game,
• 6:58
  he showed up and he was on the radars presumably
• 7:01
  of every team out there.
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: So there's your five tight end.
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: Dallas Goddard, grant kal Katara, and Kylin Granson. Now full disclosure,
• 7:12
  I had E. J. Jenkins as my third tight end. Now,
• 7:15
  I wasn't trying to get too cute in the beat
• 7:17
  writer competition. I looked at it more in the sense
• 7:20
  of I believe in the player, and I believed in
• 7:23
  my logic for keeping him on.
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: And what I mean by that is I viewed him.
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: As a player who could, in theory, take on that
• 7:31
  Johnny Wilson type of role that blocking dirty work, freeing
• 7:36
  up teammates and things like that. And also, when you
• 7:39
  look at this tight end room Goddard and cal Katara,
• 7:42
  cal Katara is a past centric tight end, a receiving centric,
• 7:46
  I should say, and Grantson is a receiving centric tight end.
• 7:49
  He doesn't have prototypical build either.
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: He's built in the mold of an h back.
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: But the Eagles already have Van sumerin. So for me,
• 7:57
  I looked at that tight end room and I thought
• 7:59
  a way to accent and give them something different would
• 8:02
  be to add someone who's six foot six, two hundred
• 8:04
  and sixty pounds, and the Eagles next best blocker at
• 8:07
  that position behind Dallas Goddard. Nevertheless, E J. Jenkins did
• 8:11
  not make the roster. We'll have to wait and see.
• 8:13
  On the practice squad offensive line, the Eagles kept Jordan Mailatta,
• 8:19
  Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Tyler Steen, Lane Johnson, Fred Johnson,
• 8:25
  Matt Pryor, Drew Kendall, Brett Toath, Trevor Keegan, and rookie
• 8:31
  Cameron Williams.
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: Cameron Williams was the interesting one.
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: To me. I did not have him on my fifty three,
• 8:40
  but sometimes the upside is too enticing to part with,
• 8:46
  and somebody like Cameron Williams, and I think Howie Roseman
• 8:50
  sort of encapsulated it this way. You have to look
• 8:53
  at where there'll be a year from now and where
• 8:55
  he would have gone in the draft, and you have
• 8:57
  to do a lot of projecting, and you also have
• 8:59
  to believe in the developmental program that your team has,
• 9:03
  and the Eagles have arguably the best developmental program out there.
• 9:07
  You look at their roster from top to bottom, and
• 9:10
  you'd be hard pressed to find a player who hasn't
• 9:12
  developed or hasn't taken a leap forward.
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: I talk about this all the time.
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: I don't think it gets talked about enough the Eagles
• 9:19
  assistant coaches are some of the best in the NFL,
• 9:22
  and there's a reason why they have a young roster.
• 9:25
  But they all have players who are primed to have
• 9:27
  big seasons, and that doesn't happen without marrying the talent
• 9:31
  with the development and teaching the fundamentals and seeing that
• 9:34
  process through. So perhaps Karen Williams will be the next
• 9:38
  player that Stoutlin can kind of mold. The Eagles offensive
• 9:43
  line guru. Brett Toat's an interesting one because in a sense,
• 9:48
  they could have released him he's a vested veteran and
• 9:50
  put him on the practice squad, elevated him week one,
• 9:54
  let's say, in the event that Landon Dickerson wasn't ready,
• 9:59
  But Brett Toad earned his spot on this roster. I
• 10:02
  thought he had moments in camp and he was handling
• 10:05
  all of the left guard reps in the absence.
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: Of Landon Dickerson.
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: Trevor Keegan, the Eagle's second year offensive lineman. I had
• 10:13
  him on my fifty three, but he had an up
• 10:16
  and down summer. I think the appeal for him is
• 10:19
  that he's a second year player. He only played thirty
• 10:21
  five snaps last season. He can play left guard, right guard,
• 10:25
  and center. We talk about the developmental program. I think
• 10:29
  that's another case of a player that they want to
• 10:32
  continue to work with and don't want to risk exposing
• 10:34
  him to waivers. And that makes a lot of sense
• 10:37
  to me. But your game Day three, behind the starters,
• 10:41
  that's going to be Fred Johnson, Matt Pryor, and Drew Kendall.
• 10:47
  Let's slip it over to the defensive side at edge rusher.
• 10:51
  Now we'll go with defensive tackle Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis,
• 10:56
  Moro Ojama, Ty Robinson, Gabe Hall, and Byron Young. Another
• 11:03
  room that's extremely young, but there are so many intriguing
• 11:07
  players in this group. And I'll spare you my analysis
• 11:10
  for Carter, Davis, and Ojama because I've talked about them
• 11:14
  a lot. Ty Robinson has had some bright spots in
• 11:18
  training camp. I still think he's not quite ready to
• 11:20
  contribute in in a meaningful way, in a substantial way,
• 11:25
  but you see the flashes.
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: But they supplemented this group.
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: By adding Gabe Hall and Byron Young. Gabe Hall, second
• 11:34
  year defensive tackle, spent the entire twenty twenty four season
• 11:38
  on the Eagles practice squad, learned under Clint Hurt spent
• 11:42
  time in the meeting rooms, and I think it was
• 11:45
  Vic Vanjo who essentially referred to him as the poster
• 11:49
  child for what the practice squad is all about. Lengthy
• 11:53
  player six foot six, can play any position on the
• 11:56
  defensive line. He got a lot stronger this offseason, evident
• 12:00
  to my eye. And I even spoke to Gabe after
• 12:03
  the Browns preseason game and he mentioned I got stronger,
• 12:07
  and he talked about just ball knowledge that goes hand
• 12:10
  in hand with being on the practice squad and being
• 12:13
  the poster child for what the practice squad.
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: Is all about.
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: You learn the game, you see it through a different lens,
• 12:19
  and you sort of, you know, redefine your body and
• 12:22
  get stronger physically so that when the next time comes around,
• 12:26
  that next opportunity, you're ready. You're ready to take control
• 12:30
  of it and answer the bell. Byron Young is an
• 12:34
  interesting one. I had him on my fifty three. The
• 12:36
  Eagles claimed him late last August when the Raiders cut him.
• 12:41
  Remember this is a third round pick just a couple
• 12:43
  of years ago, played in about six games for the
• 12:46
  Raiders and didn't make their team. Last summer. Eagles claim them.
• 12:51
  He's on the fifty three he had a hamstring injury,
• 12:54
  I believe, and didn't play any game for them. But
• 12:56
  similar to Gabe Hall, Byron Young was around, was in
• 13:00
  the building, and perhaps the game slowed down for him
• 13:04
  a little bit. You see things from a different perspective
• 13:07
  and you're able to kind of develop your body and
• 13:10
  learn under who I believe is one of the better
• 13:12
  defensive line coaches in the NFL. And Clint Hurt and
• 13:15
  I think Byron Young in this case, when you look
• 13:17
  at what the Eagles lost and Thomas Booker the fourth,
• 13:20
  he was the backup nose behind Jordan Davis, Byron Young
• 13:24
  can do that as well, So he almost takes on
• 13:26
  that Thomas Booker the fourth role. And I'm not so
• 13:29
  sure that both players probably gave hall isn't necessarily ahead
• 13:33
  of ty Robinson in the pecking order to start the season,
• 13:36
  just because I think they gave hall Is more ready.
• 13:39
  I think Byron Young, you can make a case for
• 13:41
  him as well. He's battled some injuries, but he closed
• 13:44
  out the summer strong. And ty Robinson is going to
• 13:48
  be a player. He's coming, but again it takes time
• 13:51
  and so sometimes you know it's not instantaneous the progress,
• 13:56
  but they have something there across the board, and they
• 13:59
  all bring something different to the table. Edge rusher, Noan Smith,
• 14:05
  Jay Looks Hunt, josh Ucha, Azizo Julari, and Obo Ocaronquo,
• 14:13
  who the Eagles signed July twenty second, just before training camp.
• 14:17
  Howie Roseman spoke of his get off and referred back
• 14:22
  to a joint practice that they had with the Browns
• 14:25
  when Ocaronqua was on that team and that he gave
• 14:28
  them a hard time, and I guess he left the
• 14:31
  lasting impression and he did enough to sort of ward
• 14:35
  off Patrick Johnson probably for now, and rookie six round
• 14:41
  pick Antoine Powell.
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: Ryland, who had a.
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: Nice finish to the preseason, was essentially invisible through training camp.
• 14:47
  Didn't have a ton of opportunities, but also didn't stand
• 14:50
  out in any meaningful way. In the preseason finale, he
• 14:53
  picks up a sack fumble, but that was really the
• 14:57
  only time that we noticed him. This was radio silent
• 15:01
  for much of the summer. He's the perfect example of
• 15:04
  a player that I think would benefit from a year
• 15:06
  on the practice squad if he gets there. But Okuronqua
• 15:10
  gives him another veteran who's done it before, and he
• 15:15
  stepped up when he didn't have a whole lot of
• 15:17
  time to acclimate, and I think he did a nice
• 15:19
  job and made an impression in training camp. He really
• 15:22
  only had a month, if you think about it, to
• 15:24
  catch the coach's eye, and he did so. So those
• 15:27
  are your five edge rushers to start linebacker. This one's
• 15:32
  pretty cut and dried. I think this is the easiest one.
• 15:35
  Zach Bonn, Jehid Campbell, Jeremiah Trotter Junior, and Smile Mondon Junior.
• 15:42
  The Kobe Dean begins on the pup list.
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: They're not a whole lot.
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: To say there, except for the preseason finale should have
• 15:49
  told you all you need to know about how the
• 15:51
  Eagles are going to approach their linebacking situation come week one.
• 15:55
  Jehid Campbell didn't play, Zach bond didn't play. Jeremiah Trotter Junior, however,
• 16:00
  did play. And I have to say this, Jeremiah Troter
• 16:03
  Junior had one of the better summers of any Eagles
• 16:07
  defensive player. There wasn't anything else he could have done.
• 16:10
  But when you see Jahad Campbell on the field and
• 16:13
  you sort of conjure the image of him and Zach
• 16:16
  Bond playing alongside each other. I mean, that's a formidable
• 16:21
  tandem and they can just do some things that you're
• 16:24
  not going to find across the NFL in terms of athleticism,
• 16:26
  covering a ton of ground, attacking the line of scrimmage.
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: That's going to be must.
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: Watch when they get rolling, because I think that they're
• 16:35
  going to make some explosive plays from that second level,
• 16:37
  a really dynamic duo cornerback Quinnon, Mitchell Cooper, Dejean Keeley,
• 16:44
  ringo Adorri Jackson, Mac McWilliams and Jacoryan Bennett. No surprises there.
• 16:52
  The Eagles parted with Eli Rix. He was in a
• 16:54
  crowded room and it was inevitable. Didn't really help on
• 16:57
  special teams. That wasn't his forte and the Eagles didn't
• 17:01
  have the luxury to stash seven corners like they did
• 17:05
  last year when Eli Rix made the roster. Your week
• 17:09
  one starter in all likelihood's going to be a Dorri Jackson,
• 17:12
  and I call him a floor player. You know what
• 17:16
  you're going to get. He may not make the flashy,
• 17:18
  explosive play, but you know what you're going to get
• 17:22
  from him. And when you start eighty two games or
• 17:25
  I believe that's how many he played. He get a
• 17:27
  sense for what a player is, and he may give
• 17:31
  up some things underneath, and he may be a little turbulent.
• 17:34
  There may be a little turbulence at times, but having
• 17:37
  a veteran out there can provide sort of a steadying
• 17:40
  presence versus someone like Jakoorian Bennett, who I believe ultimately
• 17:44
  will be the starter once he finds his footing and
• 17:46
  really masters this complex defense. But as of right now,
• 17:50
  I think Jaqorean Bennett will be a force on special teams,
• 17:55
  and so.
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: Will Kielee Ringo.
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: But I think it's only a matter of time before
• 17:59
  Jakorean Bennett steps up and ends up starting in place
• 18:02
  of a Dori Jackson. But Adri Jackson gives you a
• 18:06
  certain level of production. You can go into the season
• 18:08
  and have an understanding of what he's going to give you.
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: He's not a high variance type of player. He's gonna
• 18:13
  get picked on.
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: Whoever lines up opposite Quentna Mitchell is going to get
• 18:16
  picked on. But that is the cornerback landscape right now
• 18:20
  as we know it. Safety read blanket Ship, Drew mccoba,
• 18:26
  Sidney Brown, and Tristan McCollum. Not a whole lot there
• 18:34
  in terms of anything that's a revelation, but for McCollum,
• 18:39
  and it was close. I believe between him and Andre Sam,
• 18:44
  I've always said this and I believe this. Andre Sam
• 18:47
  is the better special teams player. Tristan McCollum is a
• 18:50
  trusted player at safety. He's the better safety right now
• 18:55
  and someone who Vic Vango likes and I just get
• 18:57
  a sense of the organization or big Tristan McCollum fans
• 19:01
  good story of development and again adds a steadying presence
• 19:06
  there to round out that room. Special teams kicker Jake Elliott,
• 19:11
  punter Braden Man, and no long snapper. That's right. Charlie Hewlett,
• 19:16
  who was signed in free agency early in camp, had
• 19:19
  a neck injury.
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: He was released. He wasn't waived.
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: He was released because he's been around for a number
• 19:25
  of seasons.
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: He's a vested, vested veteran.
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: The Eagles are going to do a little bit of
• 19:31
  roster tango there and probably put him on the practice
• 19:34
  squad and do the elevation thing until it's time to
• 19:37
  sign him, essentially kicking the can down the road. And
• 19:39
  what they've done is at least right now, they've afforded
• 19:42
  them the luxury of stockpiling at another position.
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: So let's say they're.
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: Not exposing Cam Williams to waivers or Trevor Keegan to
• 19:51
  waivers where they have the likelihood of being claimed because
• 19:54
  they're a young offensive lineman with some upside, and they
• 19:58
  don't risk losing a Byron Young or at Gabe Hall.
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: So I think that that was a smart move.
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: And obviously the Eagles need a long snapper, so you
• 20:07
  can expect to see Charlie Hewitt in all likelihood on
• 20:11
  the Week one roster in some capacity. Again, this is
• 20:15
  the initial fifty three. It's certain to change between now
• 20:18
  and then. There's gonna be some tinkering, and the Eagles
• 20:21
  tomorrow will begin filling out their practice squad tomorrow after noon.
• 20:26
  But let's get to some of the transactions and I'll
• 20:29
  kind of try to shed some light on this. These
• 20:32
  players were released, which means they are vested veterans. Long
• 20:36
  snapper Charlie Hewett, whom I mentioned, outside linebacker Patrick Johnson,
• 20:40
  tackle Kendall Lamb, wide receiver Terras Marshall, cornerback Perry Nickerson,
• 20:45
  and wide receiver Avery Williams. I'll pick out a few
• 20:49
  here and try to expand on it. Patrick Johnson, there's
• 20:54
  nothing more.
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: He could have done.
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: He was a training camp standout, he was a preseason
• 21:00
  stand out.
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: The Eagles know him very well.
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: He was drafted in the seventh round by the team
• 21:04
  in twenty twenty one, and each year at a camp
• 21:07
  he made the team, except for this year.
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: They kept Ogbo.
• 21:11
  Speaker 2: I'm sorry, Obo Okoronquo in place of Patrick Johnson. But
• 21:16
  I just get the sense that Patrick Johnson will return
• 21:18
  on the practice squad and make a very very quick
• 21:23
  appearance on the game day roster. That's just my you know,
• 21:28
  I have an inkling.
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: That's just a sense that I get.
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: Avery Williams was a player that the Eagles signed in
• 21:35
  the offseason to be their kicking punt returner. Had a
• 21:38
  very unremarkable summer. Was the backup personal protector on punp
• 21:42
  behind will Shipley. In theory, I guess he could have
• 21:45
  been a core special teams player. Didn't return punts all
• 21:49
  that much in training camp and didn't really factor into
• 21:51
  that capacity in the preseason either, so it felt inevitable
• 21:55
  that there was going to be a parting of the ways.
• 21:58
  Perhaps he's a player that retur turns on the practice
• 22:00
  squad because folks, as of this moment, there's no clear
• 22:04
  answer as to who will be returning punts for the
• 22:06
  Eagles come Week one when the Eagles played Dallas on
• 22:10
  September fourth.
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: There's these are the players who are on the roster.
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: You have Cooper Dejen, who I think vic Vangel wants
• 22:19
  no part of, and I'm sure the organization as a
• 22:22
  whole they're gonna tread carefully there because of how important
• 22:26
  Cooper Degene is. But Cooper Dejen is a good punt returner,
• 22:30
  good ball security, and someone that you can have confidence
• 22:33
  in that he's gonna make the most of those opportunities.
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: But there's also Johan Dotson.
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: Johan Dotson returned punts at Penn State last season when
• 22:41
  the Eagles were practicing. He was returning punts in practice
• 22:44
  behind Britain Covey, and even in training camp this season
• 22:50
  this offseason he was usually the second or third guy
• 22:54
  up behind Anayah Smith and got plenty of reps there.
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: So he's the name you could potentially look at. They also.
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: Have a friend of theirs, an old friend who is
• 23:06
  currently on the waiver wire, and that is wide receiver
• 23:09
  Britain Covey.
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: The aforementioned Britain.
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: Covey obviously has a lot of history here.
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: He made the Eagles.
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: He's stuck around for a while as an undrafted free agent,
• 23:19
  and he was an affective PUNP returner and he's somebody
• 23:23
  that in theory, if he's assuming he clears waivers, which
• 23:25
  there's no reason to believe that he won't, can be
• 23:28
  elevated for Week one if the Eagles were to sign them.
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: So there are options.
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: And Nick Sirianni intimated as much that they have a
• 23:36
  plan in place, but he was a little bit KOI said,
• 23:39
  we don't have to reveal that just yet, but we
• 23:41
  have an idea of what we're doing, so keep an
• 23:44
  eye on that. But that was something immediately, no long snapper,
• 23:47
  no PUNP returner, that immediately grabbed my attention. When the roster,
• 23:52
  the initial roster was published, the following players were waived
• 23:58
  wide receiver if he had linebacker, Chance Campbell, cornerback, Triieque
• 24:03
  Castro Fields waved injured wide receiver, Elijah Cooks, linebacker, Lance Dixon,
• 24:10
  defensive tackle, Joe Evans linebacker, Dallas Gant guard, Kenyon Green, safety,
• 24:16
  maxon Hook tight end, e J Jenkins cornerback, Brandon Johnson
• 24:21
  running back, Montreal Johnson, tight m Cameron Lattu outside linebacker,
• 24:26
  O'shawn Mathis quarterback, Kyle McCord wide receiver, Taylor Morin, tight end,
• 24:32
  Nick Muse tackle, Howand Pierce, who played guard this summer,
• 24:36
  running back shand Derek Powell outside linebacker, Antoine Powell Island cornerback,
• 24:41
  Eli Rix defensive end, Jeremy Robinson running back, Keelan Robinson
• 24:47
  defensive tackle, Justin Rogers safe, de Andre sam wide receiver,
• 24:52
  and Ayah Smith defensive tackle, Jacob Sykes tackle lake and
• 24:57
  Vakalahi cornerback aj Woods. The Eagles also placed linebacker to
• 25:03
  Kobe Dean on the reserve physically unable to perform list
• 25:07
  and na. Kobe actually puts something out on social media
• 25:10
  that said.
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: See you week five.
• 25:12
  Speaker 2: Encouraging news there he's made a remarkable recovery given the
• 25:15
  magnitude of his injury.
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: And then last.
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: Rookie tackle Miles Hinton, the Eagles placed him on the
• 25:22
  reserve injured and designated for a return. So let's get
• 25:25
  to some of the waved players, and I'll offer some
• 25:29
  analysis or my thoughts on those transactions, and why don't
• 25:34
  we start with linebacker Lance Dixon. I believe that Lance
• 25:39
  Dixon will be on the Eagles practice squad if he
• 25:41
  clears waivers. And again, the percentage of players who actually
• 25:45
  get claimed across the NFL is minute, considering how many
• 25:50
  are actually waived, but I think that he has a
• 25:53
  good shot of doing it. He showed some developmental qualities
• 25:57
  and really attacking the line of scrimmage as a blitzer,
• 26:00
  was effective in space, and I think that that's the
• 26:03
  quintessential player that the Eagles would want to develop at
• 26:06
  that position. Guard Kenyon Green. Kenyon Green, of course was
• 26:11
  part of that CJ. Gardner Johnson trade. He was injured
• 26:14
  in training camp, missed a chunk of time, and then
• 26:17
  he was with the third team, worked his way to
• 26:20
  the second team, was playing deep into the fourth quarter
• 26:22
  of the final preseason game. Jess Sttlin wasn't able to
• 26:27
  sort of refine his skill set or he wasn't able
• 26:30
  to redeem He wasn't able to redeem that skill set.
• 26:34
  But nevertheless, Kenyon Green is on waivers right now because
• 26:38
  he was drafted in twenty twenty two. He's not a
• 26:41
  vested veteran, so we'll have to see how that plays out.
• 26:45
  Howie Roseman said they wouldn't be opposed to continuing to
• 26:47
  work with that player if the opportunity presents itself. Tight
• 26:51
  end e J.
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: Jenkins.
• 26:52
  Speaker 2: I mentioned that he was on my fifty three. That's
• 26:55
  another player that just screams practice squad.
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: The body type it gives. This gives the starting.
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: Unit some unique looks when he's working on the scout team.
• 27:04
  He's somebody that I can easily see being elevated if
• 27:07
  there's a certain game plan that calls for some gritty blocking.
• 27:11
  And I'm not quite sure that he'll be claimed, but
• 27:14
  there are teams who are interested or have been interested
• 27:17
  in him in the past, so that's something to perhaps
• 27:19
  file away. But I have him right now penciled in
• 27:22
  on the Eagles practice squad. Running back Montreal Johnson Montreal
• 27:27
  Johnson Junior was an undrafted free agent signing out of Florida.
• 27:31
  I thought he had some nice moments in the preseason
• 27:34
  and in training camp. He really stood out to me
• 27:36
  early on with his contact balance and he had some
• 27:40
  burst when he got through the hole. His vision and
• 27:43
  he has the body type, and I think that really
• 27:45
  showcased itself when he got some opportunities as a kick
• 27:48
  returner and got vertical. You can see just the juice
• 27:53
  that he runs with and his ability to kind of
• 27:55
  lower the shoulder.
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: He was a tough runner at Florida.
• 27:57
  Speaker 2: That's another player that I could see on the Eagles
• 27:59
  practice squad. There was no room for him on the
• 28:01
  active roster. He wasn't going to leave frog AJ Dillon.
• 28:05
  AJ Dillon did nothing to lose a roster spot. I
• 28:08
  thought he showed that he was recovered from that neck
• 28:12
  injury that sidelined him for all of the twenty twenty
• 28:14
  fourth season, and he earned his roster spot. He's the
• 28:18
  third running back, but Montreal Johnson Junior as a player
• 28:21
  that I can see the Eagles continuing to develop on
• 28:23
  the practice squad.
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: Quarterback Kyle McCord.
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: Kyle mccorr is an interesting case here because the Eagles
• 28:31
  don't typically part with draft picks this early. They want
• 28:34
  to usually give them the benefit of the doubt that
• 28:35
  they're going to continue to grow and progress, and they
• 28:39
  don't want to run the risk of exposing them to waivers.
• 28:42
  But I think in this case, with Kyle McCord. The
• 28:45
  Eagles saw a chance to upgrade the quarterback room. They
• 28:47
  add Sam Howe. There's a chance that they can still
• 28:50
  keep Kyle McCord in the building on the practice squad.
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: He did not have a great.
• 28:55
  Speaker 2: Summer, and that's just the facts of the matter, no
• 29:00
  way to sugarcoat it, and just really inconsistent mechanically accuracy
• 29:07
  and just seeing things quickly. I think there might be
• 29:10
  something there, but it's going to take some time, and
• 29:13
  I think the preseason and training camp really revealed that
• 29:16
  it's going to take a little bit more time than
• 29:19
  maybe originally planned. I think that might be fair to
• 29:22
  say based off of a six round pick. But nevertheless,
• 29:25
  he was not worthy of a fifty three man roster spot.
• 29:29
  But that's not to say that he can't still be
• 29:32
  part of the seventy man roster and return on the
• 29:34
  practice squad if he so chooses, if he clears Waivers.
• 29:38
  Wide receiver Taylor Morin is an interesting player, decorated punt
• 29:42
  returner at Wake Forest. He's kind of built a little
• 29:45
  bit like Britain Covey, maybe five to nine, but he
• 29:48
  has a stockier build. He made some nice plays in
• 29:50
  camp had a tow drag touchdown on a Delrii and
• 29:53
  Thompson Robinson pass, and I think that he has some
• 29:57
  ability that's worthwhile to continue to work with and refine
• 30:02
  another another season working with Aaron moorehead and who knows.
• 30:06
  I'm still curious to me that we didn't really get
• 30:08
  a chance to see more in return punts because of
• 30:11
  his background, and I was curious to see how he
• 30:14
  was going to how he was going to acquit himself
• 30:17
  if they gave him that opportunity in the preseason. But nevertheless,
• 30:21
  he seemed like a player immediately that would be destined
• 30:24
  for the practice squad, and I think that he is
• 30:27
  worthy of a spot on the seventy man roster for sure.
• 30:31
  Let's see, let's go to Antoine Powell Ryland. I mentioned
• 30:35
  him a little bit earlier on. I think that he's
• 30:37
  destined for the practice squad. Didn't really do a whole
• 30:41
  lot this summer, and it wasn't until the preseason finality
• 30:44
  that he made a big play and caught everyone's eye.
• 30:49
  And that's somebody that I could definitely see working with
• 30:53
  Jeremiah Washburn being in the meeting rooms kind of like
• 30:55
  we talked about with Gabe.
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: Hall and Byron Young. Just being in the building, I
• 31:00
  think it's gonna work.
• 31:01
  Speaker 2: Wonders for him going into next season, I'm not exactly.
• 31:04
  I don't think that he would be claimed. And again,
• 31:07
  he was a six round pick and there's not a
• 31:08
  lot of tape on him. So Andre Sam, Andre Sam,
• 31:17
  I thought he was my fifty fourth player on the roster.
• 31:21
  And I say that confidently because I thought he did
• 31:24
  some really good things on special teams. He's a feisty,
• 31:28
  gritty type of player and plays with a ton of energy.
• 31:31
  And I talked to him after the game on Friday
• 31:33
  and he mentioned, I've always been that way. I've never
• 31:36
  been the biggest guy, but you know I play, you know,
• 31:39
  I play a lot bigger than my size, and he
• 31:41
  almost like he has a chip on his shoulder. He's
• 31:43
  a better special teams player than McCollum, but again McCollum
• 31:47
  is the better safety. Andre Sam would likely be on
• 31:51
  the practice squad where they can continue to work with him.
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: Perhaps he's elevated.
• 31:56
  Speaker 2: At some point, but it is my understanding that the
• 31:58
  plan right now is to get him on the practice squad.
• 32:02
  And lastly, an Ias Smith. An Ias Smith maybe was
• 32:07
  the I guess if you want to call it a surprise.
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: I did not have him on my fifty three.
• 32:11
  Speaker 2: Didn't think he was consistent enough this summer, didn't think
• 32:13
  he made enough plays. Now, did he make notable strides
• 32:16
  compared to where he was a year ago. Absolutely, he
• 32:19
  works hard, he's more confident. He had some notable development
• 32:25
  in terms of his route running, and he put in
• 32:27
  the work.
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: I always go back.
• 32:29
  Speaker 2: To this training camp practice that it was about two hours.
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: It was right in the middle of camp.
• 32:34
  Speaker 2: He stayed after practice well after the double horns it sounded,
• 32:37
  and he was working with jaywhen Hurst to get some
• 32:39
  throwing sessions in. He got timing with him in the
• 32:42
  off season to iron out some things and honing in
• 32:46
  on the routes and timing and all of that. So
• 32:49
  he put in the work. He just wasn't consistent enough.
• 32:51
  And I think what may have sealed his fate on
• 32:53
  the fifty three was sort of a lackluster showing against
• 32:57
  the Jets where he had a couple of drops and
• 33:00
  he had a bad play on one of the punt returns.
• 33:03
  Now Immediately when that happened, I said to myself, I
• 33:06
  get the sense that the Eagles aren't going to be
• 33:08
  comfortable deploying him in a regular season game because ball
• 33:12
  security is obviously paramount and the Eagles, you know, the
• 33:16
  Eagles really harp on that, and I'm not quite sure
• 33:19
  that Nias is ready to take on a role of
• 33:21
  that size. That's not to say that he won't return
• 33:23
  on the practice squad. Being a fifth round pick, he
• 33:27
  had a decorated career at Texas A and M. Maybe
• 33:30
  a team takes a chance on him, but I think
• 33:32
  the most logical fit and the most you know, logical explanation,
• 33:39
  or I guess the way that I see this all
• 33:41
  playing out is that he will probably probably return on
• 33:44
  the practice squad, and then you have another option there,
• 33:47
  and you have a younger player that Aaron moorehead, and
• 33:49
  the Eagles can continue to pour into and and sort
• 33:53
  of try to expedite that growth. But that is the
• 33:58
  roster cutdowns. That's the initial fifty three, the breakdown. It's
• 34:02
  been a busy couple of days, as I mentioned, but
• 34:05
  it's obviously subject to change. Tomorrow the Eagles will start
• 34:08
  to name their practice squad. They're back on the practice
• 34:10
  field tomorrow at two thirty, and I'll have all the
• 34:13
  news and notes for you, as I always do, right
• 34:15
  here on the check odellly and on insidethebirds dot com.
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: This has been to check odeily.
• 34:20
  Speaker 2: I am Andrew de check and I'll catch you on
• 34:22
  the next one.