QB Kessler among 25 cut by Birds

The Eagles made 25 roster moves ahead of the Saturday afternoon deadline, among the notable veteran cuts, cornerback Orland Scandrick.

A dozen more moves are necessary to reach the 53-man limit by 4 p.m. Saturday, more if the Eagles claim players off waivers.

The other veteran cuts Friday were defensive ends Eli Harold and Kasim Edebali, recently signed linebacker Hayes Pullard and tight end Will Tye. The Eagles waived 18 players, including quarterback Cody Kessler. Those players can be claimed by teams in inverse order of draft position – the Arizona Cardinals get first dibs - through the next 48 hours.

Scandrick, originally a fifth-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys, never got comfortable enough to secure a permanent locker in the dressing room.

Kessler had a chance to show he deserved a roster spot after backup quarterback Nate Sudfeld sustained a broken left wrist. But Kessler suffered a concussion on the first series of the next game and the Eagles lured 40-year-old veteran Josh McCown out of retirement.

The Eagles also waived running back Donnel Pumphrey, a fourth-round pick in 2017, wide receivers Carlton Agudosi, Marken Michel and DeAndre Thompkins and offensive linemen Anthony Fabiano, Keegan Render and Riley Mayfield.

Also waived were defensive backs Jeremiah McKinnon, Trae Elston, Deiondre’ Hall, Ajene Harris, Josh Hawkins, Sojourn Shelton and Jason Thompson, linebackers Alex Singleton and Chris Worley and defensive tackle Kevin Wilkins.

Still around on the offensive side are wide receiver Greg Ward, center Nate Herbig, guard Iosua Opeta, tackle Brett Toth, tight ends Alex Ellis and Josh Perkins and running backs Josh Adams, Wendell Smallwood and Boston Scott.

Hanging around on defense are edge rushers Josh Sweat, Daeshon Hall and Shareef Miller and linebackers T.J. Edwards and L.J. Fort.

The Eagles put tight end Richard Rodgers (foot) on injured reserve and waived-injured defensive tackle Aziz Shittu (concussion).