Eagles Stay or Go: Recapping the first week of fan voting on the 53-man roster

The first full week of fan voting on which Eagles players should remain on the 53-man roster next season is behind us.

Jeff McLane offered his thoughts on each player’s situation, but how did the fans view things? If you haven’t weighed in yet, be sure to cast your vote.

Six players have a 99% approval rating through the first week:

Boston Scott, RB - 99%

Miles Sanders, RB - 99.2%

Dallas Goedert, TE - 99.2%

Brandon Brooks, G - 99%

Lane Johnson, OT 99%

Fletcher Cox, DT - 99%

The six players just about every fan wants to see return next season are all under contract. Brooks, Johnson, and Cox are among the best players at their respective positions, and Sanders and Goedert are young players who have shown great potential. Scott is the most surprising, although his late-season emergence was vital in the Eagles’ playoff berth. Brooks and Johnson make up the best offensive-line tandem in the NFL, and Goedert elevated his play late in the season.

Just missing the 99% cut on offense were Carson Wentz (96.3%), Zach Ertz (97.3%), Greg Ward (97.8%), Andre Dillard (97.4%) and Jason Kelce (98.2%). On defense, Brandon Graham (96.8%) was the only other player to surpass 95%, while kicker Jake Elliott (98.4%) and punter Cameron Johnston (97.8%) both eclipsed the mark.

Genard Avery, DE - 51% stay, 49% go

T.J. Edwards, LB - 57% stay, 42.9% go

Kamu Grugier-Hill, LB - 60.3% stay, 39.7% go

Somewhat coincidentally, 2 1/2 linebackers were the most polarizing players in the poll. Avery, technically a defensive end, might have a future as an extra blitzing linebacker on passing downs. The Eagles traded a fourth-round pick for Avery at last year’s trade deadline, so it’s highly unlikely he won’t be on the 53-man roster come the fall.

The voting on Edwards is a good indication of how the Eagles view linebackers vs. how fans do. Edwards saw increased playing time as the season went on after making the roster as an undrafted free agent last summer. He likely will continue to see an increased role for the defense, which doesn’t put a great emphasis on premiere talent at linebacker.

Fans seem to want to see Grugier-Hill back, but it’s not looking promising. The starting linebacker seemed to fall out of favor with the coaches right around the time he lied about a concussion to stay in the team’s loss to the Miami Dolphins. Two weeks later, he was placed on injured reserve with a back injury. He saw his role reduced right before reporting the injury.

Here are some notable players most respondents want gone next season:

Darren Sproles, RB - 97% Go

Nelson Agholor, WR - 94.3% Go

Ronald Darby, CB - 85.3% Go

Jason Peters, OT - 77.2% Go

Alshon Jeffery, WR - 67.8% Go

Not many surprises here. Jeffery might be the most surprising. His contract situation will make it difficult for the Eagles to cut bait, but he’s still coming off the worst year of his career and is rehabbing from a foot injury that might slow him even more.

Both Peters and Sproles should be appreciated for their contributions to the team, but Sproles is retiring. Peters? He said he’d like to play at least one more season, but perhaps it should be elsewhere. The Eagles moved up to draft Andre Dillard, Peters’ heir apparent, last season. He played well enough in relief of Peters to show he’s ready to take the job.