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The DiCecco Daily: My Final Eagles 53-Man Roster Projection · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Hello, everyone, and welcome in to another episode of the
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Checo Daily. It's Andrew DiCecco, Eagles beat reporter for InsideTheBirds.com.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: And we just wrapped the preseason finale, which means I
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: have to give you guys now my final 53-man roster projection,
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: which I just filed. It's on InsideTheBirds.com. I filed it
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: in our beat writers pool. And so we'll just get
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: right to it. The Eagles, it doesn't matter what the
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: score was, but they lose to the Cincinnati Bengals. And
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: the game doesn't matter. It mattered for the players who
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: were out there. Probably not so much in terms of
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: the roster complexion, but... We'll start at the quarterback position
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: because I didn't think that Tanner McKee or Andy Dalton
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: really helped themselves in any way in this game. It's
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: been a pretty middling competition between the two all summer.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: If you want to give the slight edge to someone,
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: I would give it to Tanner McKee. Not tonight, but
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: for the totality of training camp and the summer, I'm
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: going to give the nod to McKee there. Now, full transparency,
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: I don't have Cole Payton making it. I have three quarterbacks.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: And that is Jalen Hurts, Andy Dalton, and Tanner McKee.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: The fact that the Eagles put in Cole Payton last
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: week against the Patriots with 57 seconds left in the game,
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: didn't enter the final game on Friday night against the
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: Bengals until there was six minutes left in the game.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: Under six minutes, actually. So to me, it kind of
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: signaled that maybe they were trying to hide him a
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: little bit in case they wanted to try to pass
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: him through waivers. He's still a ways away from being
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: someone who they can depend on as a number three quarterback. Yes,
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: he's athletic, and he showed more than Kyle McCord, and
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: he has tools to work with, but I don't know
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: that he showcased enough in the preseason to... compel a
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: team to place a waiver claim on him, especially when
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: you would have to waive somebody who you liked enough
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: to make your 53-man roster. I ended up going with
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: the three quarterbacks there, the veterans. And look, do I
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: expect Annie Dalton and Tanner McKee both to be on
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: the 53-man roster when the Eagles are on the field Sunday,
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: September 13th against the Commanders? Probably not. But it does
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: take two to tango, and I don't view either player.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: I don't think McKee gets waived. I don't think Dalton
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: gets released. I think they're going to try and figure
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: something out. And if they don't, I think they keep
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: the three, and you keep Cole Payton on the practice squad.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: Just my thought process. I spent the entirety of the
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: game racking my brain and putting a lot of effort
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: into my 53, probably overthought it a little bit. But
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: that's where I'm at with the quarterback position. Running backs easy,
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: Saquon Barkley, Tank Bigsby, Will Shipley. No Carson Steele. I
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: just don't think that– I know that he flashed in
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: the preseason, but it also has to do with practice,
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: and he didn't make those splash plays in practice. He
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: didn't get a ton of reps in practice. He is
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: someone that I think you can still get through waivers
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: on the practice squad, sort of a Henry Josie type
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: of situation here. if they so choose to do that,
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: to revisit that. Same goes for Damian Pierce, who struggled
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: catching the football in this game, but he did run
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: pretty hard. Wide receiver, I went with five. Devontae Smith,
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: Dontabian Wicks, Akai Lemon, Hollywood Brown, and Darius Cooper. None
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: of those five played. They didn't dress for this game.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: That tells you something. Hollywood Browns owed $ 5 million. He
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: signed a one-year $ 5 million contract, all of which is guaranteed.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: Unless the Eagles trade him for some reason, he's going
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: to be on the roster. So I feel really comfortable
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: with that group of five. Elijah Moore played in this game.
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: And I think as a veteran, he's five years in
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: the league. You can work something out. You can get
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: him on the practice squad. You can elevate him as needed.
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: But he doesn't offer special teams value, and that's something
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: that I've talked a lot about this summer. That is
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: hugely important when you're trying– when every roster spot towards
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: the back end is so critical, you have to be
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: able to provide some kind of value other than being
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: a six receiver. And I just don't think that he
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: fits that criteria. So– Wasn't an easy one, but it
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: was one that I had to do, and I felt
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: pretty good about that five that I went, that I
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: kept on the roster. And we'll go with tight end.
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: I went with four. I initially had three, but I
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: finished with four. Dallas Goddard, Johnny Munt, Eli Stowers, and
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: Cameron Latu. Latu... If you paid attention to the game,
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: and I understand if you weren't watching in the second half,
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: they took him out of the... He wasn't in the
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: game on special teams or offense after a certain point,
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: whereas some other guys who were vying for some of
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: those final spots that I had trouble with, they were
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: out there. Maybe it doesn't count for anything, but it's
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: something that I paid attention to, and I think Latu's
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: more of a placeholder because I don't feel really good
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: about this group. It strikes me as a room that
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: they're going to look to add to externally, and... I
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: kept Latsu on for now because of his blocking prowess,
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: his special teams prowess. He's one of the best special
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: teamers on the Eagles, so he would have a role
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: on game day. And I think that he's shown that
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: he can be an impactful blocker in this offense, which
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: is going to be critical. Didn't catch the football as
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: well as I thought he would this summer, but I
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: felt decent about keeping him on relative to maybe some
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: of the other players that I was determining that I
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: was sort of lobbying against. and considering. So Latu is
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: the fourth tight end. I think maybe someone like EJ
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: Jenkins or Stone Smart can get them on the practice squad.
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: Latu would probably go back on the practice squad and
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: clear waivers if the Eagles do add another tight end
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: to that room, which I think that they need to do,
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: just to add more depth and a more well-rounded player.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: Because let's face it, if something happens to Dallas Goddard,
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: Johnny Muntz has caught just 74 passes in his career.
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: He's a one-dimensional player. Stowers is not ready to contribute
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: in the regular season yet. He needs more seasoning. We've
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: talked a lot about that. And Latu isn't the pass-centric
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: tight end that you need, the well-rounded tight end that
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: you need. So that leaves a considerable void there that
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: I think the Eagles are going to have to address.
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: But this is the initial 53, and that's who I
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: kept on at tight end. Offensive line, I went heavy.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: I went with 11. There's a reason for that, and
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: we'll outline it. You have the five starters. Then I
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: went with Fred Johnson, Markel Bell, Drew Kendall, Willie Lampkin,
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: Micah Morris, and Jake Majors. The Eagles value the trenches.
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: And let's not forget, this is the same team that
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: once upon a time in 2023 rostered seven defensive tackles.
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: If the value is there, they would likely go heavy.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: And I think someone like Jake Majors would get claimed
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: off waivers. His preseason take was good. I thought he
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: did good things in practice, especially the second half of
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: training camp. And really, I believe that the Eagles coaching
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: staff clearly likes him, maybe more than others may. But
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: I think he's done some good things, and he is
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: someone who offers guard center versatility. Now, you can say
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: that it's a little redundant because you have Lampkin, you
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: have Drew Kendall, but it's about keeping good football players
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: and figuring out the rest later. Micah Morris was a
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: draft pick. He's athletic. Still a little raw, but I
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: don't think that that's someone that you want to risk
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: exposing to waivers, but I think he's probably a little
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: bit away from being able to help you in a game.
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: He was also in the game longer than Majors in
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: this game, for whatever that's worth. But I went heavier
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: here because I just see the value. It's about keeping
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: the best football players on your team, and I think
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: Majors would possibly get claimed on waivers. He's also someone
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: that maybe a team wants to trade for if they
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: aren't happy with their depth. Look around the NFL. The
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: state of offensive line play is not good. So the
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: Eagles sort of have an embarrassment of riches there, and
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: why cut it down for the sake of doing so
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: to keep, let's say... a fifth linebacker, a fourth safety,
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: when neither of the players vying for those spots in
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: those respective rooms, you don't need to keep those guys.
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: So I felt pretty good about that. It's a little unconventional,
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: but that's kind of the way that I saw it.
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: I've been on the Jake Majors train, if you will.
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: for much of training camp. I liked him coming out
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: of college. I was intrigued when the Eagles put him
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: on the practice squad last year, and he was a
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: guy that I highlighted that I wanted to see this summer.
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: I had a chance to talk to him after the game,
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: and I had a good conversation with him. He said
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: it's in God's hands, so we'll see what happens. Flipping
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: things over to the defensive side. Defensive tackle. I have
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: the Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Mauro Jomo, Byron Young, Ty Robinson,
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: and UR Bernard. And UR Bernard is really the only
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: player that had a little bit of consideration, but not
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: really when you consider the fact that the Eagles, they
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: drafted him. It was known that he was going to
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: be a couple years away if he is able to
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: see it through. They were patient. This is all part
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: of the plan. It's a process. I don't think you
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: want to risk exposing someone to waivers that you've just
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: spent time working with and developing. He's here in Philadelphia
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: with Clint Hurt in a place where. he's seen some strides.
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: He's been a good story. He stays, and that really
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: is the defensive lineman. Edge rusher. Again, I kept six.
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: Jonathan Grenard, I did not put him on PUP, because
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: we'll have to see. It's not out of the question
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: that he'll be available for week one, maybe week two.
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: We'll have to wait and see how that all plays out. J.
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: Lux Hunt, Nolan Smith, Arnold Epikady, A.J. Epinesa, and Joshua Weiru. Weiru.
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: That's how you properly pronounce it. Weiru. From Kenya, the
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: IPP player. He's made strides in training camp. He's someone
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: that is a little bit further ahead than you are, Bernard.
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: He has the rugby background. But both players are a
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: little ways away from being able to help the Eagles if,
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: in fact, they are ever able to. But just the
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: tantalizing athleticism, you can see it in the preseason games,
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: the way that he moves, some of the things that
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: he can do. You want to work with that. There's
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: tools there, and you don't want to run the risk
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: of throwing him out their own waivers. And maybe there's
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: another team out there that's intrigued with what they saw,
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: and then they want to bring him in and work
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: with him a little bit. So he stays. Keyshawn James
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: Newby was a player that I considered– He did some
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: good things in this game, but I just think it
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: wasn't enough because he missed a lot of training camp.
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: I talked to him as well after the game, and
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: he said it's out of his hands, but he's grateful
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: for the opportunity. That's something that Jake Majors said three
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: different times, that he's grateful for the opportunity. I think
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: when you talk to these guys in a moment like
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: that where they could have just played their last game
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: in Philadelphia, their careers could end up being in limbo
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: over the next 24 hours. You can see that they
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: had like a moment of clarity where it hit them. And,
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: you know, you're, you're, you've been with this team for months.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: You've been with the, you get to form relationships with players,
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: with coaches, and then all of a sudden you don't
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: know what the future is going to hold for you.
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: And that's, that's a heavy, that's a heavy burden there.
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: And it happens every year. But it's something that I
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: just wanted to share to really illustrate the nature of this.
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: It's not simply it shouldn't be viewed as simply a transaction.
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: These are these are livelihoods that are here at stake.
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: And I think that's something to kind of put into perspective.
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: But I don't have James Newby on the 53. I
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: do have him on the practice squad.
• 12:30
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• 12:50
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• 15:48
  Speaker 1: I just kept four. I kept Zach Vaughn, Jahad Campbell,
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: Jeremiah Trotter Jr., and Smile Mondajuk. I didn't go with
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: Chance Campbell, and I didn't go with Deontay Lawson. Deontay
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: Lawson's another player that I had a chance to speak
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: to after the game. But Chance Campbell, I understand that
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: Vic Fangio is a fan, and that counts for something.
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: But he is 26 years old. He has been through
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: the waiver process before. He was on the Eagles practice
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: squad all year in 2025, and no one signed him away.
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: I think that he's not someone that you need to keep.
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: You can elevate him if you need to, but they
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: already have two players in Trotter Jr. and Mondin Jr.
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: who are going to be key pieces on special teams.
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: If you're light there for whatever reason, you could probably
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: elevate him if you get him on the practice squad.
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: And then with Lawson, he played deep into this game.
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: I think he's still a developmental prospect who has shown
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: a lot of promise. Don't get me wrong there, but
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: not someone that you must keep on the 53. Those
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: should be slam dunks or certain prospects in the case
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: of who are Bernard or Joshua Waber who have shown
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: you something that you really don't want to run the
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: risk of losing. and I don't think that you need
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: to go heavy at linebacker. I think it would make
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: more sense to go heavier along the offensive line where
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: there's a ton of value there and players who can
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: help you, cost-effective, long-term depth that you're going to need,
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: and that's why I went that route on the O-line.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: But at linebacker, there's really not a need. I know
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: it's a deep position. Vic Fangio caught it probably the
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: deepest position on defense, but that's kind of my thought
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: process there. At corner, that was one of the more
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: challenging projections for me because there isn't a ton of
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: depth behind the top three, and that would be Quinion Mitchell,
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: Cooper DeGene, and Rick Bowen. But I kept six, and
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: the other three would be Jonathan Jones, who missed a
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: lot of training camp with a shoulder injury, but he
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: is a veteran. He'll be 33 in September. I understand that.
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: Maybe there's some concern there. If he had the injury,
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: he's an older player, but he can play essentially any
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: position in the secondary. You need a veteran there to
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: provide that kind of stability, and maybe he'll be a
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: placeholder for somebody else. Maybe he can go on the
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: practice squad. He is a vested veteran, so we'll see
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: how that goes. But Jonathan Jones, Mack McWilliams, who I
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: didn't think had a particularly strong preseason. It seemed like
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: teams were picking on him a little bit. He racked
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: up a ton of tackles in a couple of those games,
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: which isn't always a good thing. But he's in position
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: to make the play. He does offer positional versatility. A
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: 2025 fifth-round pick that I think Vic has sort of
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: spoken highly of at different points. He needs to be
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: a little bit more consistent there. But of the bunch,
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: I think he's among the best of that heap of
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: players who are vying for a roster spot. Mac McWilliams stays.
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: And then the final one is Keely Ringo. And I
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: think his spot was all but cemented once the Eagles
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: released JT Gray, the safety, who's a three-time All-Pro and
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: a terrific gunner. Keely Ringo is also a terrific gunner
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: and a core special teamer, which is going to be
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: his role this season. And so I felt really comfortable
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: keeping him on there. as that final piece, and he
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: will have a role on game day, of course, on
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: special teams. Safety, I just went with three. I went
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: with Drew Makuba. I went with Michael Carter II and
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: Marcus Epps. I think you can get one of Cole Wisniewski,
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: Andre Sam, Kapina Gushikin, or Maximus Pulley, probably get two
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: or three of those guys on the practice squad. I
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: just want to highlight something here because I've been really
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: high on Andre Sam. And just give me a little
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: bit of time here to talk about it because all
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: he does is show up for three years now. There's
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: nothing he could have done more. to make the roster
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: and he was having the best game that I've seen
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: him play since he's been here in Philadelphia a couple
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: forced fumbles pass deflections fumble recoveries or a couple fumble
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: recoveries and I think he had a forced fumble as
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: well But he was flying around. He made a ton
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: of plays. He's a dependable player that Vic Fangio the
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: other day called trustworthy. He's taken all of the second-team
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: reps at safety this summer. He doesn't come off the
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: field in the preseason. He's a 27-year-old who's given everything
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: to the Eagles, and he's been waived for the last
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: two years. And I thought that this gave him maybe
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: the best chance of sticking, but he gets hurt. and
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: I didn't see what the injury was, but I know
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: that he was on the ground for a while. The
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: card came out. Teammates were kneeling. The card took him
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: into the tunnel. He did give a thumbs up, but
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: it's a really unfortunate situation for a player who is,
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: if you don't know his story, go read it about
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: him because he's absolutely resilient. He played with a lot
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: of heart in this game, and it's a shame that
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: it had to end that way. I don't know what
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: the injury is. We'll have to wait and see on that,
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: but I think he's a player that never gets talked about.
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: You hear a lot about the undrafted free agents and
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: Gushikin and Pulley, but let's not lose say the fact
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: that Andre repped in front of them the entire summer.
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: So the Eagles saw something in him. And I understand
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: that he's not the shiny new toy. He's a 27
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: year old. He's been around for a while. Maybe he's
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: reached the ceiling, but he's a good football player. He
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: can absolutely play. and so we'll have to wait and
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: see what the future holds for him. But I just
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: wanted to give a mention there for someone who I
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: thought balled out and did all that he could, and
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: he wasn't able to leave the game on his own
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: terms on Friday night. That said, I think you can
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: get two or three of those safeties on the practice squad.
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: I don't see the need to go heavy there, especially
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: when Cooper DeGene is your safety and base. So you
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: have enough there, and then you also have the potential
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: to elevate players for the practice squad. Specialists, I went
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: with two. Kicker, Jake Elliott. Complainer, Brayden Mann. Rocco Underwood,
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: I have waived. I don't think there's going to be
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: teams clamoring to claim him on waivers. And I also
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: think it gives the Eagles an opportunity to maybe explore
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: other options at longstop, or maybe there's a veteran who
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: shakes loose, or a player that you maybe feel a
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: little bit more comfortable with, perhaps. And so that was
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: my logic there. A couple notes regarding the practice squad.
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: Britton Covey, for example, is a vested veteran. So he
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: doesn't have to be subject. He's not subject to waivers.
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: So if he wants to come back to Philadelphia, if
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: the Eagles want him back, he can come back on
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: the practice squad. I think Cole Payton is a good
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: pick for the practice squad if he clears. EJ Jenkins
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: would be another player, a really good blocker. We'll have
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: to see if he gets other opportunities.
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: Hey, Philly fans, game day is stressful enough. Parking, traffic,
• 22:47
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• 23:41
  Speaker 1: And up tishon james newby Jose Ramirez, Deontay Lawson, Chance Campbell,
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: Cole Wisniewski, Gushikin, Holy. Those are some of the guys
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: that I had on there. John Ajuku, Cameron Williams. So
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: those are some of those names that I put on
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: my practice squad when I submitted it. But we'll see
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: how it goes. It's going to be a very eventful season.
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: 24, 48 hours and maybe more for the Philadelphia Eagles
• 24:13
  Speaker 3: because I'm expecting a flurry of moves outside of the cuts,
• 24:16
  Speaker 3: or maybe not a flurry, but some maneuvering because I
• 24:19
  Speaker 3: don't think this is going to be a finished product.
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: That's why they call it the initial 53. And with that,
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: that is going to do it for this episode of
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: the Check the Daily. Commander DiCecco, catch you all in
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: the next one.