Eagles’ 53-man roster projection: How the picture looks entering training camp Week 2

The Eagles are three practices into the 2026 training camp and, after a day off Sunday, are scheduled to return to the field Monday morning for practice No. 4.

That starts the busiest six-day practice stretch of camp. The team is scheduled to be on the field Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Let’s take a look at where things stand in our latest 53-man roster projection before the week kicks off:

Traded: Tanner McKee

Nothing has changed here from our previous, way-too-early first look at the 53 in June. It remains hard to believe that the Eagles keep Dalton and McKee on the roster. Dalton has taken more second-team reps than McKee to this point, so we’ll stick with McKee as the one who gets flipped for a draft asset later in camp. Of course, Dalton is a candidate to have the same fate. Both quarterbacks are slated to be free agents after the season. Payton has had an up-and-down start to camp, but the Eagles will take some of the struggles in stride if they believe he can be a developmental player in their system. And if they believe that, they would be taking a risk by trying to get the fifth-round pick through waivers.

Cut: Dameon Pierce, Elijah Mitchell, Carson Steele

Bigsby certainly looks like he’s going to have a bigger role in this offense than he did in last year’s. Shipley hasn’t done anything spectacular yet, and Pierce has popped a little bit, but Shipley gets the nod again for now. Pierce could make the Eagles if they keep a fourth running back, but we’ll stick with three for now. (Note: We listed Cameron Latu here last time as a fullback, but we’ll shift him to tight ends, where the Eagles roster him. Spoiler alert: He’s still on the 53.)

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

The top four players should be considered locks. Cooper is competing with Wilson for a role that Nick Sirianni described as doing the “dirty work.” Keeping both seems redundant. Cooper currently has the edge in that competition. Moore is a wild card. If the Eagles decide to go with just five here, he likely would be the odd man out. Gray had the play of the day Saturday, but there’s a lot of traffic ahead of him.

Cut: Grant Calcaterra, Stone Smartt, E.J. Jenkins, Dae’Quan Wright

No change here. We haven’t seen a lot of targets going to the tight ends so far in camp. Goedert, Mundt, and Stowers likely will be the main trio at tight end, and Latu’s value as a fullback, tight end, and special teamer gets him on the 53 right now.

Cut: Micah Morris, Jake Majors, Cameron Williams, Willie Lampkin, Jaeden Roberts, Hollin Pierce, John Ojukwu

We went extra heavy in Vol. 1 of this exercise by keeping 11 guys, but 10 still is pretty deep. There’s been some shuffling, though the bottom of the depth chart remains plenty up in the air. The first eight guys listed are locks, and the only real competition among that group currently is which of the backup tackles, Bell and Fred Johnson, gets the swing tackle spot. The makeup of the reserves on the interior is still to be determined. Kendall got some work with the first team at left guard, spelling Dickerson, on Saturday. He also took some second-team center reps, flipping with Majors, who played center with the second team during the first two practices. The Eagles seem to like Majors, and they’ve moved Hinton inside. Jordan has experience, which could prove useful. Morris was banged up Saturday and left the field, Roberts appeared to suffer a more significant injury on the final play of practice, and Williams sat out with an injury. Those will be worth monitoring this week.

Cut: Ty Robinson, Gabe Hall, Zion Wilson

No change from June. We had Robinson off the list then, and that prediction looks better now. The fourth-round pick from last season has been taking developmental reps next to Bernard. That’s not a good sign. The last Eagles fourth-round pick to not make the roster in his second season was running back Donnel Pumphrey. Shoutout to NBC Sports’ Reuben Frank for that stat. Bernard’s roster situation is fascinating. Will the Eagles keep a guy on the 53 who won’t play a snap this season because of the fear that another team would claim the first-time football player on waivers? We’ll find out eventually, as long as Bernard gets through camp healthy. Rostering Bernard could make the Eagles want to keep six linemen here, since Bernard likely won’t see a snap. Robinson and Hall would be the beneficiaries there.

Cut: Keyshawn James-Newby, Jose Ramirez, Joshua Weru

Status quo on the edge. Greenard seems likely to miss the bulk of training camp with his pectoral injury. Hunt has been dominant so far in practice and seems likely to out-rep Smith during games. Behind that trio, Ebiketie and Epenesa seem like the most likely pair to fill out the back of the rotation. James-Newby, a seventh-round pick, was carted to the tent and then walked gingerly into the building Saturday, cutting his practice short.

Cut: Chance Campbell, Deontae Lawson

The only way this changes (besides a major injury or roster addition) is if Chance Campbell gives the Eagles a reason to keep a fifth linebacker. He was a highly regarded practice squad player last season and had a nice interception on Thursday. Keeping a fifth linebacker would mean going lighter at another spot, like cornerback, offensive line, or wide receiver, and the other positions on this roster are more important than a deep reserve at off-ball linebacker.

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

Mitchell, DeJean, and Woolen make up what could be one of the best cornerback units in the NFL. Their backups have different skill sets. Jones can play inside and out and is the veteran of the bunch with 10 NFL seasons under his belt. That combination should get him on the roster. Ringo, meanwhile, has excelled on special teams. McWilliams, a fifth-round pick last season, also has inside-outside versatility. The Eagles could end up going lighter here given safety Michael Carter II’s nickel background.

Cut: J.T. Gray, Andre’ Sam, Kapena Gushiken, Max Pulley

DeJean will play safety in base defense, and when he’s at nickel Epps is getting the majority of first-team reps. Carter has taken a few, too. Wisniewski gets the nod over Gray, who has been a career special teamer. Howie Roseman hasn’t been afraid of August trades, and safety is the position most likely to see an upgrade between now and the end of camp.

These are the only three specialists on the roster.