On the eve of cuts deadline, Eagles RB Corey Clement says 'I deserve to feel good right now'

For someone whose employer was two days away from firing more than 30 people, Corey Clement appeared confident.

It was the postgame locker room after the Eagles' 16-10 loss to New York Jets in the preseason finale, and that room is annually filled with players similar to Clement burdened by the uncertainty of their futures. But Clement, a Glassboro native who's an undrafted rookie, sounded optimistic about surviving roster cuts and being on the roster come Saturday at 4:01 p.m.

"I deserve to feel good right now," Clement said. "I laid everything out there, especially these past six weeks. Not even on offense, but also on special teams. I had a great time with everybody. I shocked myself, to be honest with you."

The Eagles signed Clement as a priority free agent after the draft in April, but the depth chart ahead of him became crowded. Darren Sproles, Wendell Smallwood, Byron Marshall were all returning from last year; LeGarrette Blount signed in May after leading the NFL in touchdowns last season; and Donnel Pumphrey was a fourth-round pick. Most teams keep four running backs. The odds seemed long for Clement.

But Clement has impressed during training camp and the preseason. He is 12 pounds lighter than when he arrived, dropping from 227 pounds to 215 pounds. This is the target weight range he set with running backs coach Duce Staley, and it's the product of "running" and "wearing a lot of clothes." He thought he carried too much muscle mass last year at Wisconsin and would be more effective if he were leaner.

"I've been fighting all camp from the bottom trying to work my way to the top," Clement said. "If anybody understands the amount of sacrificing I had to do to keep going up the depth chart, it's a lot."

Clement has 28 carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns this summer. The 3.8 yards per carry isn't significant, but it's the way he ran that might stand out to evaluators. He also had a role in special teams and pass protection.

"I'd rather them say he can block first before he can run," Clement said. "I try to show that every down I was out there to protect the quarterbacks, not to let sacks. I hold that as a chip on my shoulder to know I can stay in on third downs. …Then I can run, I can catch the ball out of the backfield. And to be the total package, on special teams, getting on [special teams coordinator Dave] Fipp's awareness."

The Eagles started Clement on Thursday and only played him in the first half. He took fewer snaps than Pumphrey and Marshall, who are his main competitors for a roster spot. Blount, Sproles, and Smallwood didn't need Thursday for an evaluation. Clement's early exit could be interpreted as a good sign. Perhaps the Eagles saw enough.

"I hope it is," Clement said. "I don't know what that means. I just have to stay naïve to everything."

Unless the Eagles were willing to release Pumphrey despite his draft status, the Eagles would need to keep five for Clement to make the team. Asked after the game if that's realistic, coach Doug Pederson said "it's not out of the question."

Complicating the roster math is how the Eagles value draft picks. They're usually afforded a longer leash, and it's rare to cut a fourth-round pick such as Pumphrey. Pederson, who carved an NFL career out of being an undrafted player, can empathize with the way undrafted players might feel this week.

""Even as a player, back a hundred years ago, you kind of go, 'Well, are they going to take the drafted guy over a non-drafted guy?' " said Pederson, a former undrafted quarterback. "Obviously, I think you do consider where a guy was picked and if there are resources invested, if there's guarantees, all that stuff, which I leave that to Howie [Roseman] and those guys. I'm sure that plays a little bit into the decisions. But from my standpoint, we pick the best 53 football players for this roster."

Clement said he doesn't pay attention to draft status anymore. Once he was signed, he considered himself like any other player in the room.

But Clement feels like this weekend is draft weekend all over again. He waited through seven rounds and went unpicked. He landed with his hometown team, performed well enough to make it a difficult decision, and the local running back is hours away from landing a spot on the Eagles.

"I can't wait to hopefully spread the great news," Clement said.

EXTRA POINTS

The Eagles started trimming their roster on Friday. Quarterback Matt McGloin was released, which was the most notable move. Cornerback Sidney Jones was put on the non-football injury list, as expected. The following players were waived:  LB Don Cherry. DT Winston Craig, WR Rashard Davis, TE Anthony Denham, QB Dane Evans, LB Carlos Fields, CB Aaron Grymes, DE Jake Metz, C Tyler Orlosky, T Victor Salako, LB Christian Tago, DT Gabe Wright, and TE Adam Zaruba. WR Paul Turner was waived with an injury settlement.