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The DiCecco Daily: Thoughts, Analysis on Eagles Initial 53-Man Roster · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Hello, what's going on everyone? Welcome in to another episode
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: of DiCecco Daily. It's Andrew DiCecco, Eagles beat reporter for InsideTheBirds.com.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: And we have news because the Eagles whittled down the
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: roster to 53 players. And I'm just going to get
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: this out of the way right now. It is the
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: initial 53-man roster.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: It's always subject to change.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: And I imagine that what you hear right now as
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: I run through it will be drastically different from the
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: roster that the Eagles have September 13th for the season
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: opener against the Washington Commanders.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: But they had to meet that 6 p.m. deadline. I'll
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: get to the players who were released today.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: Linebacker Chance Campbell, wide receiver Britton Covey, wide receiver Danny Gray,
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: outside linebacker Teron Jackson, guard Michael Jordan, running back Damian Pierce,
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: tight end Stone Smart, cornerback Ambry Thomas, cornerback Sean Wade.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: Wide receiver Quez Watkins. The following players were waived by
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: the Eagles.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: So 31 other teams will have a chance to place
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: a claim on them. There's obviously an order there. But
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: that's the difference between those who are vested veterans and
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: released and those who are subject to the waiver wire.
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: Defensive tackle, Uar Bernard. Defensive tackle, David Blay. Cornerback, Isaiah Bolden. Center,
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: Zeke Carell. Wide receiver, Eric Ezukanma. Linebacker, Brandon George. Defensive back,
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: Kapina Gushikian. Defensive tackle, Gabe Hall. Tackle guard, Miles Hinton.
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: Outside linebacker, Keyshawn James Newby. Tight end, Cameron Latu. Linebacker
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: Deontay Lawson. Defensive back Jalen Mahoney. Center guard Jake Majors.
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: Running back Jordan Mims. Tackle John Ujuku. Safety Maximus Pulley.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: Outside linebacker Jose Ramirez. Safety Andre Sam, injured. Running back
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: Carson Steele. Wide receiver Samari Torre. Wide receiver Taj Washington.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: Outside linebacker Joshua Wairu. tackle Cameron Williams, defensive tackle Zion Wilson,
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: and safety Cole Wisniewski. The following Eagles were placed on
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: reserve injured designated for return, cornerback Ja'Corian Bennett, and tight
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: end Grant Calcaterra. So let's go position by position here,
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: and I'll offer some analysis.
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: I did not do particularly well this year.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: In my 53-man roster that we, you know, as a
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: beat core, we all submit. And I can tell you
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: right now that I didn't fare particularly well. This was
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: one of the more challenging 53s that I had to
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: put together in recent years. So quarterback, the Eagles keep four.
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: Jalen Hurts, Cole Payton, Andy Dalton, and Tanner McKee.
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: Little surprising, but it takes two to tango.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: It's obvious that Andy Dalton or Tanner McKee, one of
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: them should have been offloaded in a trade, but You
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: have to have a team that wants those players, and
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: they didn't exactly help themselves this preseason.
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: There's still time for things to develop there.
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: It's not that the door is shut on that, and
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: Howie Roseman is always going to leave no stone unturned.
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: But I didn't have Cole Payton on my final 53 because.
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: I don't think he's shown enough. He's wildly inaccurate.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: There are tools to work with, but in the grand
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: scheme of things, I didn't think that he put enough
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: on tape. to warrant consideration on the waiver wire. The
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: Eagles didn't play him a lot in the preseason. Normally
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: when you do that, it's to maybe hide a player
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: so that teams don't get a lot of tape or
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: get another set of eyes on that player. And they're
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: not front of mind, but they keep their draft pick.
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: And look, when the Eagles talk about player development, the
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: quarterback factory, all of that, it makes sense. But for me,
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: I was just looking at the best 53 or mostly
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: the best 53 because I did have the two IPP
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: players and who are Bernard and Joshua waiver on there.
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: But I didn't think that Cole Payton ultimately did enough
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: and he's not in a position where he can help
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: the Eagles, but he did play a few snaps on
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: special teams the other night. So perhaps he can provide
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: some added value in another facet because he Fourth on
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: the depth chart, you're not going to get a ton
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: of reps in practice. You're not going to have certainly
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: a defined role barring injury. But that's the quarterback situation.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: Running back is pretty cut and dried. It's three, Tank Bigsby,
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: Saquon Barkley, and Will Shipley. And I think that's a
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: really complete group. You have Saquon Barkley leading the way.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: He's going to assume the lion's share of the carries.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: The offense is going to run through him. They're predicated
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: on the ground attack, and he looked awesome in training
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: camp He looked like he had the burst and the
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: explosiveness that he's had in the past couple years here.
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: And I do believe that all three of the running backs,
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: namely Barkley and Shipley, will have a role in the
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: passing game just based off of what I've seen and
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: some of the different wrinkles offensively.
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: I believe it this time.
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: I think that's going to be a facet of the
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: game that first-year coordinator Sean Manning is going to implement.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: And I think all three players complement each other very well.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: The big one here, and it's not really a big
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: one if you watch practice aside from the preseason games,
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: and that's Carson Steele. So Carson Steele completely lit it
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: up in the preseason, but there are so many players
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: in years past who have accomplished just that. In practice,
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: he wasn't making those kind of plays. He didn't get
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: that kind of work in practice. In fact, when Damian
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: Pearce who was released when he was healthy. He was
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: repping in front of Carson Steele. You can see the
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: potential and the athleticism and the uniqueness of his skill set,
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: but is he a player that you have to have
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: on your 53-man roster? That's why there's sometimes a discrepancy
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: between what you see in practice and what you see
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: in the games because.
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: What counts, I believe anyway, more.
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: Than anything is the day-to-day consistency in practice. How are
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: you growing and developing defensively? Are you carving out a
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: defined role? And I think more than anything, you didn't
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: really see Carson still get opportunities with the first unit
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: on special teams. Had he done that and made some plays,
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: maybe he forces his hand. But right now, I think
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: he's a guy that you can get through waivers and
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: safely onto the practice squad. Damian Pierce was released, but
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: I think he's also a player that the Eagles would
• 6:32
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• 6:34
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• 6:37
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• 6:40
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• 6:49
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• 6:52
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• 6:55
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• 7:02
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• 7:33
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• 7:37
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• 7:42
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• 7:45
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• 7:48
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• 8:18
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• 8:21
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• 8:23
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• 8:25
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• 8:27
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• 9:51
  Speaker 1: 69-man roster on the practice squad, which will be established tomorrow.
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: So stay tuned for that. Wide receiver, they kept six.
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: Hollywood Brown, Devontae Smith, Makai Lemon, Dontavian Wicks, Elijah Moore,
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: and Darius Cooper. The one surprise for me was Elijah Moore.
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: Not that he didn't have a good camp, because I
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: would make an argument he was among the Eagles' top five,
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: and there was a stretch there where he was one
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: of the top two receivers in camp.
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: Certainly top three. He made a lot of plays.
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: It was evident early on that he was establishing chemistry
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: with Jalen Hurts. He kind of gives you a built-in answer.
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: If you don't want to overload Makai Lemon early in
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: the season, they fill a similar type of role, similar
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: type of build. And I think having a veteran like that,
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: it kind of guards against any growing pains early on
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: for Makai Lemon. And, you know, Hollywood Brown didn't necessarily
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: have the greatest training camp. So I think you want
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: to kind of stockpile that group. But he is a veteran,
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: and I thought that Elijah Moore would be someone that
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: you can release, work out an agreement, get him on
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: the practice squad, elevate him. But the Eagles may have
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: looked at this situation– and taken a gander at the
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: wide receiving cores around the league and recognized that there's
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: no guarantee that you can get Elijah Moore to agree
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: to come back on the practice squad. You look at
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: the Miami Dolphins and their receiving core, there's a number
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: of other ones across the NFL in which Elijah Moore
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: could be a 53-man roster guy and have a role
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: on game day. So maybe that played into it as well.
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: I'm not exactly sure, but I'm trying to explore all
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: angles of that, and that to me makes a lot
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: of sense.
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: So the Eagles are stockpiled there at wide receiver.
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: Tight end, they went with four, though not the four
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: that I expected. Johnny Munt, EJ Jenkins, Eli Stowers, and
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: Dallas Goddard. The surprise here was EJ Jenkins over a
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: Cameron Latu, Batu is the better special teamer, but I
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: don't think he had a great summer. He dropped a
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: number of passes, and it just didn't seem like the
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: coaching staff, for whatever reason, was overly– they weren't rushing
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: to get him in offensively for whatever reason. Maybe it's
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: just a byproduct of what this coaching staff prefers. Again,
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: I'm not privy to that. I'm not in meetings, but
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: I go off of what I see, what I hear,
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: what I know. And if you've read and listened to
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: me in terms of my practice observations, I did note
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: two or three different times that that EJ Jenkins impressed
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: me as a blocker. He's made tremendous strides in that area.
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: He takes a lot of pride in that. He filled
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: out his frame. He's about 255 pounds. But watching him
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: as an in-line blocker, it's easy to see what the
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: coaches would like. Now, Alatu also is a punishing blocker.
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: I've highlighted that. And I think the way that he
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: plays and his ability to help on special teams as
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: well makes a lot of sense, and it gives you
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: some value there. But I did notice that Jenkins was
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: going in in the lineup offensively before Cameron Latu. It
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: seemed like he got some more work than Latu, so
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: maybe this staff liked what they saw from EJ. Now,
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: he dropped the football a handful of times as well.
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: Latu's not alone in that, but I did note that
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: Jenkins really caught my eye, maybe not so much as
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: a pass catcher, but as a dirty work player, and
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: we know from listening to Nick Sirianni how much he
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: values those kind of players. Could that group look a
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: lot different in 24 hours? It certainly can. But for now,
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: on the initial 53, those are your four tight ends.
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: Offensive line, they kept 10. Cam Juergens, Tyler Steen, Willie Lampkin,
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: Lane Johnson, Drew Kendall, Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Markel Bell,
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: Fred Johnson.
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: And Micah Morris.
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: I had all of those players, but the 11th lineman
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: that I had was Jake Majors, who plays.
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: Center and guard.
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: I look at the quality of offensive line play around
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: the NFL. Teams are more inclined to place a waiver
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: claim on an offensive lineman, certainly one coming from Philadelphia.
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: At least that had been the case with Jeff Stoutland.
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: I think in a lot of other cases, maybe on
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: an offensive line room that isn't as deep, Majors makes it.
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: I think he did enough to make it.
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: And I'm sure the Eagles are hoping that he clears
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: waivers so they can get him back on the practice squad.
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: But no objection to any of the other players, certainly.
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: Micah Morris hangs on as a draft pick.
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: He's athletic. He's still a little bit of a work
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: in progress. But fortunately.
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: he doesn't the eagles don't need him to step in
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: now he's the 10th offensive lineman the last one on
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: and fred johnson there was a lot of questions about
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: him he did not have a particularly strong summer but
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: let's not forget that markel bell of late um we
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: don't know what the extent of it but he's missed
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: time with with an injury so fred johnson gives you
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: a little bit of a of a cushion there, a buffer.
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: He can step in and play left or right tackle.
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: There's value of having him on the roster. Started about
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: 20 games for the Eagles over the past two seasons.
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: And I've talked a lot about Drew Kendall and Willie Lampkin.
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: Drew Kendall, I would make the argument that has, that
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: he's made the biggest strides of any of the Eagles
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: young players just from a physicality standpoint he got stronger
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: he's now 305 pounds he showed an ability to transition
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: to guard when needed he's of course a center by
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: trade and he's going to be the immediate backup to
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: cam jurgens but the growth that kendall made and you
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: listen to other linemen talk some of the different media
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: availabilities after training camp practices and they've all highlighted drew's
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: developing strength and that being a noticeable difference in his game.
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: He's going to be the top interior backup on game day.
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: And Willie Lampkin is someone that emerged very quickly from
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: the third team. started repping at center. They cross-trained him
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: at guard. He's played both at college, and I think
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: we got to see what the Rams got to see
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: last summer, and that's a player who is built for
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: the moment. It doesn't matter the size of the lineman.
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: Willie Lampkin is a technician. He plays with a very
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: powerful base, and he has good athleticism. That wrestling background
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: and that technicality and physicality and the natural leverage in
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: which he plays with really revealed itself early in practice,
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: and he kind of took his opportunities and ran with it.
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: So I felt really comfortable about him being on and
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: decently about Michael Morris as well, but they ended up
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: keeping 10 instead of the 11 that I forecasted.
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: Defensive line, the Eagles keep five.
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: Jordan Davis, Byron Young, Ty Robinson, Mauro Ojomo, and Jalen Carter. Notice,
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: Uar Bernard is not on this list. And I'm kind
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: of surprised about that. The Eagles drafted him in the
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: seventh round. it was understood by everyone that it was
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: going to be a process, that if he is able
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: to see this through and help the Eagles, it probably
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: wouldn't be for two or three years. Clint Hurt was
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: a big proponent of UR and pretty much pounded the
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: table for him. They surrounded him with support, and they
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: still are going to if he's able to clear waivers.
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: But the Eagles, knowing how bullish they are on player
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: development and how they prioritize that. I was mildly surprised
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: that UR didn't survive, knowing that it was always going to.
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: Be a project.
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: Now, if you're the Eagles, you have to hope that
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: Bernard clears waivers. But if you watch the preseason games,
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: because all 31 other teams aren't privy to what we
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: got to see in practice, and that is a player
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: who has made strides from the first time he put
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: a helmet on at rookie minicamp, to the final training
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: camp practice. You don't have to squint to see the
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: progress that he's making. And it is gradual, but it
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: is progress. All teams got to see was his performance
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: in the preseason games. And naturally, you're going to see
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: a player that looks a little out of place. They're
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: trying to find their way, but they're going to give
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: him snaps because that's the only way that you get better.
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: That's the only way that you improve. It can't always
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: be mental reps. You've got to get in there and
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: learn from mistakes and reap the benefits of your coaching
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: when you are able to make plays better. So we'll
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: see what happens there. He's probably less likely to get
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: claimed off waivers than the next player. I'm going to
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: talk about in a second, which brings us to outside linebacker.
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: The Eagles keep five, Nolan Smith, Arnold Abacate, Jonathan Grenard,
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: AJ Epinesa, and J looks hunt. Good news for the
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: Eagles that they kept Jonathan Grenard and they didn't put
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: him on any kind of list. It suggests that even
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: if he is going to miss a couple of weeks, uh,
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: It's not going to be an extended layoff. At least
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: that's my interpretation of keeping him on the 53. So
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: that's promising news there for the Eagles with regard to
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: Jonathan Grenard, who has that pec strain that kept him
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: out of all of training camp. And let's not forget,
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: he also didn't practice at all in the spring either.
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: So that comes naturally with a lot of questions as
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: to how long will it take to one, get him
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: on the field, but also ramp him up. And so
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: he can get the full allotment of snaps. It's going
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: to take a little bit of time to just be
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: patient there.
• 19:02
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• 19:06
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• 21:28
  Speaker 3: and up.
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: I was a little surprised that Joshua Waberow didn't make it.
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: Look, I get that he's still a ways away.
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: And Vic Fangio warned everybody about when he would say
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: that these guys are light years away. He was tempering expectations.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: And it's one thing to hear that, and we should
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: always take what Vic says at face value.
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: But, man, when you watch.
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: Joshua Waber in the games and you see the athleticism
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: that he has and the move that he was able
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: to make to get that sack. I understand that he
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: wasn't really having to defeat blockers or anything like that.
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: And you could see the rawness out there and just
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: the overall inexperience. But when you have tantalizing upside like
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: he does, normally that has been a player that the
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: Eagles want to work with. But I would also say
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: that normally that player is a little bit further advanced
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: in terms of their football experience. So a couple of
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: unique cases there in both players. I think maybe the,
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: the waiver claim process with regard to them is probably
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: a little overblown because teams would have to then take,
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: take on both players, assume with the understanding that they
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: still are a ways to go and you're going to
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: kind of keep them on the back end of your
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: roster and they won't be able to help you. So,
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: My gut tells me that one or both will clear,
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: but we'll have to wait and see how that goes. Linebacker,
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: the Eagles keep four. Jihad Campbell, Smile Mondin Jr., Zach Bond,
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. I know that Vic Fangio said
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: don't sleep on Chance Campbell. When you make your list,
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: make sure he's on it type of thing. And I
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: still think that Chance Campbell is somebody that the Eagles
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: can get through. waivers and on to the practice squad
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: if they want to, because I just don't think that.
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: He doesn't strike me... Well, actually, I'm looking at this now.
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: He was under the released, so he's not subject to waivers.
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: I thought he was a vested veteran, but I'm never
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: quite sure because there are certain stipulations that qualify for that,
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: but he's listed as released.
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: So if they want to bring Chance Campbell back, they can.
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: work out an agreement, get him back on the practice
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: squad and sort of have him as an extension. Deontay
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: Lawson's another player who flashed a little bit this summer,
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: the undrafted rookie out of Alabama.
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: And I understand that.
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: When you see some of these players and you hear
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: the coaches talk about them, naturally that's going to, that's
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: going to pique your interest, but there's not room for everybody.
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: And not every player is going to be claimed off
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: waivers that there's a very small group of players who
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: are because they're Let's not lose sight of the fact
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: that for a team to claim a player off waivers,
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: you have to then waive a player on your 53
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: who you felt good enough.
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: That they made your 53.
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: And then you also have to hope that the player
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: that you're claiming can help you at some point this season.
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: Because not every team has the luxury of being able
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: to stash players on the back end of the roster
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: who are developmental prospects. So I do get the sense
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: that a lot of these guys are going to clear
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: waivers and they'll be on the practice squad. And all
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: of a sudden they are an afterthought when you get
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: to September. But that's what makes tomorrow really interesting to
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: see who passes through, who the Eagles prioritize and who
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: they ultimately want to bring back.
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: Defensive back, they kept nine. So I'm grouping them all together.
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: Reek Wollin, Keely Ringo, Mack McWilliams, Drew McCuba, Quinion Mitchell,
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: Marcus Epps, Jonathan Jones, Cooper DeGene, and Michael Carter II.
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: Two players here that I'll talk about that I'm sure
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: a lot of you have questions about. Mack McWilliams, second-year player,
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: a 2025 fifth-round pick. He didn't perform particularly well in
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: the games. He racked up a ton of tackles, but
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: that's not always a good sign. The receiver was often
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: able to catch the ball. He was right there to
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: make the tackle, but it did seem like quarterbacks were
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: picking on him a little bit.
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: I didn't see.
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: The rapid development or the pronounced development in his second summer.
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: He had moments, and he got stronger. He got a
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: little bit more physical. He was clearly more comfortable in
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: the defense. I should say he clearly is more comfortable
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: in the defense, but I didn't see enough consistency from.
• 25:51
  Speaker 2: Him But he is a former draft pick.
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: Well, he is a draft pick. He's not a former
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: draft pick. And he's someone that Vic Fangio seems to
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: like a little bit. And he offers positional versatility at
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: Nickelback and corner. He might be one of those guys
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: that is no longer in Philly when the Eagles make
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: some of those decisions and add players on waivers or
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: what have you. He might be one of those players
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: that are. Player 52, 53, 51, I don't know. But
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: I know that some are going to groan when you
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: hear the name Mack McWilliams and that he's on the
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: initial 53. But just understand that in the grand scheme
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: of things, this is not a finished product. Keeley Ringo, look,
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: I think there's some folks out there who are a
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: little bit too harsh on him.
• 26:39
  Speaker 2: You have to know what he is.
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: He's a fifth-corner player. who is a tremendous special teams player.
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: Michael Clay wins when Keely Ringo makes the roster here.
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: And he's one of the better gunners in the NFL,
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: someone who I believe garners Pro Bowl and even All-Pro
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: considerations because he's that good.
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: But he's not someone who can help you at corner.
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: He's probably unplayable there.
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: And it doesn't seem like Vic Fangio trusts him all
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: that much. But it also seems like Vic likes him
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: a little bit. If you listen to the way that
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: he talks about him, He called him everyone's pinata doll,
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: and he is because I think sometimes folks get a
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: little bit carried away, and he can help this team,
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: just not what you expected him to do when he
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: was drafted. On game day, he will be a special
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: teamer who will make a ton of plays, and the
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: third phase is important. There's three phases that matter. I
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: know the third phase gets lost a lot, but that's
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: what he's going to provide.
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: But that's okay. You have to accept that that is
• 27:42
  Speaker 2: what he is.
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: Right now, and this is the final year of his
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: rookie deal, so this could be the last year of
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: Keeley Ringo, but we're kind of early for that.
• 27:52
  Speaker 2: This is where we're at. That's your defensive backroom. Specialist.
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: Kicker Jake Elliott, punter Braden Mann, and long snapper Rocco Underwood.
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: I had Rocco Underwood as someone that they were going
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: to leave off, trying to maybe make room for a Joshua.
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: Wehru or an UR Bernard or maybe an 11th offensive lineman,
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: but it wasn't to be. The Eagles opted not to
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: get cute here.
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: They have some continuity with this group who have worked
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: together all summer and I think Rocco improved.
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: This training camp went on in the beginning. He was
• 28:23
  Speaker 2: a little shaky.
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: But sometimes as a young player, you just kind of
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: got to work through that a little bit. And they clearly,
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: at least at the moment, feel comfortable enough with Rocco
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: not to waive him and just keep him on the
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: initial 53.
• 28:35
  Speaker 2: Could that change?
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: Sure. But at this moment, as I record this at
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: 7 o'clock p.m., that's what they're rolling with.
• 28:44
  Speaker 2: It's always subject to change. Keep that in mind.
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: I keep reiterating that because I'm sure there's a lot
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: of folks out there who aren't overly enthused with some
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: of the roster decisions. And so who can land on
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: the practice squad? There's just a couple that stick out
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: to me. Aside from Bernard and Weiru, I look at
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: someone like, and I'm going through the list, Eric Azucanma.
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: Kapina Gushikin, Keyshawn James Newby, Deontay Lawson, Jake Majors, John Ujuku,
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: Maximus Pulley, Carson Steele, Damian Pierce, Cameron Williams, Zion Wilson,
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: maybe Cole Wisniewski. We'll have to see how he is health-wise.
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: But that's just my early thoughts on that. And that
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: is my sort of synopsis of this initial 53-man roster
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: for the Philadelphia Eagles. And for now, That's going to
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: do it for this edition of the Checo Daily.
• 29:41
  Speaker 2: I'm Andrew DiCecco, and I'll catch you all on the
• 29:43
  Speaker 2: next one.