Eagles hope roster turnover during preseason will provide depth along the margins in regular season
It might be less of a "goodbye" and more of a "see you later" for some of the players the Eagles have cut or will be letting go in the next few days.
The Eagles have tweaked their roster a good amount during the preseason. Since the start of training camp July 25, the team has swapped players 17 times, through the waiver wire, trades, or free agency.
There is a method to the madness of portable lockers constantly changing nameplates and numbers. As the cutdown from a 90-man roster to the official 53 begins, the team hopes it provides depth on the fringes, especially as the season progresses and injuries happen.
“The guys that were here previously, right, we’ve worked with those guys," Eagles coach Doug Pederson said. "Even though you have to let some of those guys go to bring these 15 or so in, we have a history on the guys we had to let go. So, if there’s an injury or something down the road during the season, we know about these guys; they are familiar with us.”
Players the Eagles let go, such as defensive back Tre Sullivan and defensive tackle Bruce Hector, played meaningful snaps for the Eagles last season once injuries piled up. Hector played in eight games, and Sullivan played in 12, including a start against the Cowboys in Week 9 once the Eagles secondary had thinned to the point of signing guys off the street.
Assuming those two players don’t stick on another NFL roster, the Eagles could call on them again if a need emerges.
In the meantime, they’ve been able to scout new players and accumulate film on them, all while they get a head start learning the Eagles system.
“We get another evaluation on them, and probably for the same reasons. If there is something that happens during the regular season, these guys can be called upon to come in," Pederson said. "They know your team. They know your — kind of your structure and it makes an easier fit.”
Some of the players brought in mid-training camp have put together solid preseasons. Delmar, Del. native Alex Ellis joined the team a week into practices and had three catches and one touchdown in the two preseason games he played in, despite learning the playbook on the fly.
Ellis’ role increased with injuries to tight ends Dallas Goedert (calf) and Richard Rodgers (foot), and he’s handled the extra playing time well.
Ellis is the type of player the Eagles are glad to have seen for a few weeks, even if he doesn’t end up on the final 53-man roster, although the Eagles might hope they won’t need to call him back if they do cut him.
“He’s been getting more opportunities maybe than he otherwise would have because of the numbers there and the injury situation,” Eagles offensive coordinator Mike Groh said earlier this week. “He’s gotten ample opportunity to do some things both in practice and in games. I think he’s representing himself very well.”