Eagles' 53-man roster breakdown

Share

The Eagles have their 2016 team. At least for now.

In addition to making a blockbuster trade, sending Sam Bradford to Minnesota, the Eagles made the rest of their required 21 cuts by Saturday’s 4 p.m. deadline and have their final – but fluid – 53-man roster. It includes four undrafted free agents.

There weren’t a ton of surprises. Here’s a full look at the roster:

Quarterback (2): Chase Daniel, Carson Wentz 

Bradford is gone. For now, the Eagles are left with two quarterbacks on the roster. The stop-gap and the future.

Running back (4): Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles, Kenjon Barner, Wendell Smallwood

The top three have been written in pen for some time now. Mathews will be the team’s lead back in 2016, while Sproles and Barner will be mixed in. Smallwood played just a few snaps this preseason thanks to a couple injuries but makes the team anyway over Byron Marshall.

Wide receiver (5): Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor, Josh Huff, Dorial Green-Beckham, Paul Turner

Everyone’s favorite training camp hero Turner earned his roster spot this summer, outlasting a few veterans and a few fellow undrafted rookies. It’s hard to argue with his production during the preseason. Matthews, Agholor, Huff and DGB weren’t in danger of missing the team.

Tight end (3): Zach Ertz, Brent Celek, Trey Burton

The Chris Pantale as a fullback experiment died on Saturday. Pantale struggled in the preseason and the team elected to stick with three tight ends.

Offensive line (11): Jason Peters, Isaac Seumalo, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks, Allen Barbre, Stefen Wisniewski, Matt Tobin, Lane Johnson, Josh Andrews, Dillon Gordon, Halapoulavaati Vaitai

Because Johnson hasn’t been suspended yet, he’s taking up a roster spot that could have gone to a younger player the team wants to develop. The team kept undrafted former tight end Gordon, who has been playing tackle, guard and fullback, and also kept fifth-rounder Vaitai.  

Defensive end (6): Connor Barwin, Vinny Curry, Brandon Graham, Steven Means, Marcus Smith, Bryan Braman

The team goes heavy at defensive end, keeping Means, Smith and Braman, who is basically just a special-teamer at this point.

Defensive tackle (5): Fletcher Cox, Bennie Logan, Beau Allen, Taylor Hart, Destiny Vaeao

After the starters, Allen and Hart played very well and proved they were scheme fits. Vaeao made the team over fellow undrafted rookie Aziz Shittu. Vaeao had a good spring and summer, while Shittu missed the spring while still at Stanford.

Linebacker (4): Jordan Hicks, Mychal Kendricks, Nigel Bradham, Stephen Tulloch

Even Howie Roseman noted the team is light at linebacker after cutting Najee Goode. The team will likely add someone, but don’t rule out a return for Goode at some point. Rookie Quentin Gause could land on the practice squad.

Cornerback (6): Leodis McKelvin, Nolan Carroll, Ron Brooks, Jalen Mills, Eric Rowe, C.J. Smith

Smith, the rookie from North Dakota State made the cut as the team kept six corners, including Rowe, who has looked like a scheme misfit at times this offseason.

Safety (4): Malcolm Jenkins, Rodney McLeod, Chris Maragos, Jaylen Watkins

The Eagles cut Ed Reynolds and rookie sixth-rounder Blake Countess. Watkins has looked like the third safety for some time and Maragos is very useful on special teams.

Specialists (3): Donnie Jones, Jon Dorenbos, Caleb Sturgis

No big surprises here. Jones and Dorenbos did away with their competition a while ago. Sturgis was simply better than Parkey during training camp and preseason. 

Contact Us