Goode back on roster after Burton strains calf

If anybody still sends Christmas cards, the Trey Burton family ought to be getting a nice one from the Najee Goode family this year.

The Eagles cut Goode, a veteran linebacker and special teams cog, in a surprise move last week. The upshot seemed to be, they were confident he wouldn't be snapped up by another team, and they wanted to leave him off the roster for Sunday's opener against the Cleveland Browns. A vested veteran on the Week 1 roster has his salary for the season guaranteed.

Eagles coach Doug Pederson said before practice Friday that the Eagles' roster would remain at 52 instead of the maximum 53 for Sunday, a clear indication of this intent.

But in Friday's practice, tight end and special teams ace Trey Burton suffered a calf strain. Burton is listed as questionable for Sunday. Goode is a strong special teams player. So he was added to the roster Saturday, presumably to play Sunday. He now is assured of getting his full $750,000 for the season.

This is a move the Eagles probably wouldn't make if there were a decent chance Burton could play, so on offense, it seems likely we won't see any of that three tight end stuff that worked so well in the preseason.