Eagles 53-man roster projection 3.0: What changed after the first preseason game?

For the first time since training camp kicked off late last month, the Eagles got some work against a real opponent Saturday, when they traveled down to Baltimore for what ended up being a 24-7 preseason defeat to the Ravens.

What was learned? Not a whole lot, really. The Eagles, as expected, rested almost all of their projected starters. They ran a pretty bland offense and didn’t peel back the curtain to what the new scheme under Sean Mannion might fully look like.

More will be revealed this week, when the Eagles head north for two joint practices against the New England Patriots on Wednesday and Thursday before preseason game No. 2 on Saturday.

Still, Saturday’s action combined with some recent practice observations were enough to stir some movement in our latest 53-man roster projection. (Here are links to our previous iterations from a month before training camp started, and two weeks ago.)

Traded: Tanner McKee

Status quo here. Dalton got the start on Saturday, which seemed to reveal the Eagles consider him QB2 over McKee for now, even despite Nick Sirianni again saying after the game that nothing has been decided. Neither quarterback looked very good, though the play-calling and scheme were pretty vanilla and they were playing behind backup linemen and throwing to backup receivers. The end goal here hasn’t changed. The Eagles likely will be looking for a trade partner for a quarterback-needy team between now and roster cut-down day, which is Aug. 30. We’ll leave McKee as the one who eventually is traded, though it could be Dalton.

Cut: Dameon Pierce, Carson Steele, Ja’Quinden Jackson

Same three here from our previous two projections. Pierce popped a little in the early days of camp but has been dealing with a hamstring injury. Shipley had a few solid runs on Saturday, a little bright spot in what was a lousy night for the offense.

» READ MORE: The Eagles offense was not impressive in Sean Mannion’s debut. That’s not surprising ... or all that concerning.

Cut: Elijah Moore, Johnny Wilson, Danny Gray, Britain Covey, Quez Watkins, Erik Ezukanma, Samori Toure

Our first position group with some movement. We’re keeping five players instead of six this time because needs for spots at two positions on defense came up (more on those later). The order of the top five players also has changed. Cooper has moved into the “lock” category with the three guys listed ahead of him, while Brown’s struggles in camp make it fair to wonder if the Eagles would consider cutting him and dealing with the cost of releasing a player who signed a $5 million guaranteed deal. That seems hard to fathom for now. Moore has played well enough to warrant giving him a roster spot, but one could argue keeping Brown and Moore is a bit redundant.

Cut: Grant Calcaterra, Stone Smartt, E.J. Jenkins

Another unchanged position group. Goedert and Mundt will be on the field often, while Stowers, a rookie second-round pick, might need some more seasoning. Latu’s status as a blocker and special teamer should have him on the right side of the cuts.

Cut: Myles Hinton, Michael Jordan, John Ojukwu, Jake Majors, Cameron Williams, Hollin Pierce

Two new names make the cut with the final two spots in this group. The first eight players listed are locks. Lampkin has come on strong over the last week or so and was a bright spot Saturday. Lampkin and Morris, a sixth-round pick, are in the field over Jordan and Hinton for now. The No. 9 and No. 10 spots certainly are still up for grabs. It’s also possible the Eagles keep only nine on the initial 53 and try to get some guys through to the practice squad. Kendall and Lampkin can play both center and guard.

Cut: Gabe Hall, Zion Wilson, David Blay

We left Robinson off of our initial iterations of this exercise, but he had his best week of camp and had a sack Saturday (though he did have some mishaps, too). Bernard remains the wild card. For now, we’ll guess the Eagles decide it’s too risky to expose him to waivers and keep him on the roster after camp breaks. Robinson offers some insurance at a position where the Eagles are rostering a player who likely won’t play.

Cut: Tarron Jackson, Keyshawn James-Newby, Jose Ramirez

This may be considered an overreaction. Weru, an International Pathway Player like Bernard, played his first-ever padded football game Saturday and had a quarterback hit. Sure, he was unblocked off the edge, but you saw the athleticism the Eagles loved when they signed the former rugby player from Kenya. Weru has a lot of developing to do, but he has clocked a 4.45-second 40-yard dash, a 41 1/2-inch vertical leap, and a broad jump of 11-2. If he flashes in more preseason action, will another team claim him if the Eagles waive him?

Much has been made about Bernard. The Eagles drafted him in the seventh round and signed Weru as an undrafted free agent. But they might have two players worth protecting come Aug. 30. We’ll see. Ahead of Weru, those five spots should be considered locks. Barring injury, don’t expect much movement here. It’s the top five guys, and then maybe Weru.

Cut: Chance Campbell, Deontae Lawson, Brandon George

There’s some buzz around Chance Campbell. Vic Fangio seems to like him. The 2022 sixth-round pick came off injury and was a well-liked member of the practice squad last year. He’s also having a good camp. But unless the Eagles want to cut Mondon, their own fifth-round draft pick from last season, it seems superfluous to keep five off-ball linebackers just for the heck of it. Mondon seems to be developing and is a solid special teamer. Trotter, meanwhile, probably starts on some NFL teams. There doesn’t seem to be a need to keep five players here.

» READ MORE: Joshua Weru and Uar Bernard suited up for the Eagles on Saturday night. It was their first football game at any level.

Cut: Kelee Ringo, Jakorian Bennett, Ambry Thomas, Shaun Wade, Tariq Castro-Fields

We are going one fewer here than last time for a few reasons. Needs along the defensive line forced the hand a little, and there’s also some positional versatility in the defensive backfield that makes it unnecessary to roster six corners if there are other positions worth stretching. Michael Carter II, who is in a competition to start at safety, can be the backup nickel. DeJean will play safety in base. Jones, who is out right now with a shoulder injury, and McWilliams offer inside-out abilities. Ringo is the roster casualty here. He had a nice interception on Saturday, but also got beat for a touchdown.

Cut: Cole Wisniewski, Andre’ Sam, Max Pulley, Kapena Gushiken

This position is getting pretty interesting. Wisniewski, a seventh-round pick, has been sidelined by a hamstring injury, and it’s hard to give him a roster spot right now. The new UDFAs, Gushiken and Pulley, have had their moments. Sam has been around the building on the practice squad for a few years. But we’ll give the fourth spot to Gray for now. The 30-year-old is an elite special teamer.

These are the only three specialists on the roster. Underwood has had a few snapping issues so far in camp, but the Eagles haven’t brought anyone else in. They could cut him on Aug. 30 and then find another snapper before Week 1.

Listen to the latest episode

Lane Johnson rejoined training camp this past week after a multi-day absence, but his return brought with it the announcement that 2026 is “probably” going to be his last NFL season. What does the prospect of the All-Pro’s retirement mean in both the short- and long-term? The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Ryan Novozinsky take a look at what the Eagles can expect from Johnson in his 14th year as a pro, and who might be waiting in the wings to replace him. Listen here.

Listen to all episodes here or wherever you get your podcasts.