Underperforming CBs Jones, Douglas among cuts
The Eagles turned the page on underachieving cornerbacks Sidney Jones and Rasul Douglas Saturday to reach the 53-man roster limit.
Also axed were defensive ends Shareef Miller and Joe Ostman; offensive linemen Sua Opeta and Prince Tega Wanogho; tight end Noah Togiai’ and defensive tackles Anthony Rush and Raequan Williams.
Alshon Jeffery survived the cut to 53, the veteran among seven wide receivers. The Eagles kept just three running backs and eight offensive linemen, both lows for the Doug Pederson era. It could get crazier with the liberal rules in play for the 16-man practice squads that teams can begin forming at noon Sunday. General manager Howie Roseman hinted that Jones or Douglas could be back at some point, along with some of the other cuts.
“There definitely w ill be changes in the next 24 to 36 hours just based on the IR rules,” Roseman said. “I don’t know that we’re exactly where we want to be even on the 53. But knowing that we have these extra practice squad spots and we have the ability to bring guys up gives us a little bit different flexibility.”
The big story was what is now left of the Eagles’ 2017 draft class.
Only Derek Barnett and Nate Gerry are left from the eight selections. Jones and Douglas came off the board in the second and third rounds, respectively, that year.
“It’s disappointing,” Roseman said. “I take all that personally. You wantmore guys from your draft class to be successful. I think unfortunately we had to learn from that draft class and we’ve gone over some of those guys. Did we force some things? Did we do some things that were kind of contrary to our plan going in because we missed out on some things? But I do think when we look at the last few years’ draft classes, overall they’re pretty good. We’ve got a lot of guys playing for us.”
Jones couldn’t play hurt, missing 26 games over three seasons with nagging, not major, issues. He was ailing from a lower body injury most of training camp.
It was clear the Eagles didn’t appreciate Jones’ unwillingness to play through injuries last year when he let a hamstring issue keep him from playing against the New York Jets, Pederson in so many words saying the cornerback had to push himself through it.
Douglas played hard but was a liability in coverage, a sucker for the double-move. He didn’t take the greatest angles either.
“For us, we’re going to be aggressive, we’re going to take some chances,” Roseman said. “And if we’re wrong we’re going to learn from it. ... We’re going to get more right than wrong.”
Look for Jones, Douglas or both to resurface with the New York Jets. Joe Douglas, the Jets general manager, drafted them with the Eagles.
The Eagles also will be scanning the waiver wire for help. The lack of tape without a preseason will challenge the Eagles’ ability to make evaluations.
“It’s a little bit of a game of chicken because some of these guys that are cut, we don’t know them as well as maybe we would by having some exposure to them,” Roseman said. “It will be interesting to see what happens with claims as opposed toyears past. It’s not like you can claim a guy and get him on a plane and he’s in your building on Monday.”
All of that said, Roseman likes the nucleus of thisroster. “I think we have enough talent to be a really good team and we have really good people on our coaching staff to help that happen,” he said. “We’ll just have to see how the season goes and howwe dealwith adversity and what goes on in this unique year.”
Eagles’ 53-man roster
QUARTERBACKS(3)» Carson Wentz, Nate Sudfeld, Jalen Hurts.
EMERGENCY MAN » Greg Ward.
ANALYSIS » The way the offensive line is now, all of those guys could throw the football this season including Ward, who played QB at the University of Houston.
RUNNING BACKS (3) » Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, Corey Clement.
EMERGENCY MAN » Hurts.
ANALYSIS » The Eagles typically keep four backs and could add a veteran after the cuts. But with the practice squad expanding and two players from that unit eligible to be activated on game days, this was a good place to go lean. Roseman intimated that guys like Elijah Holyfield, Mike Warren and Adrian Killins could be signed to the practice squad.
TIGHT ENDS (3) » Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, Josh Perkins.
EMERGENCY MAN » JJ Arcega-Whiteside.
ANALYSIS» Last year the Eagles kept just Ertz and Goedert on the first 53-man roster. Doug Pederson runs 12 personnel so much that you need three, and Perkins can play wide receiver, too.
WIDE RECEIVERS (7): » DeSean Jackson, Arcega-Whiteside, Jalen Reagor, Greg Ward, John Hightower, Quez Watkins, Jeffery.
EMERGENCY MAN » Perkins.
ANALYSIS» Keeping just five receivers last year was a disaster, especially with the aging Jeffery in the group. It’s tough to imagine the Eagles counting on Jeffery this season as they already have a collection of receivers who have demonstrated the bility to run, get open and catch.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (8) » Isaac Seumalo, Jason Kelce, Jason Peters, Lane Johnson, Matt Pryor, Nate Herbig, Jack Driscoll, Jordan Mailata.
EMERGENCY MAN » Mailata.
ANALYSIS » After the four veteran starters, you can talk me out of anybody on this less-than-distinguished list. Peters is the team’s best left tackle and he’s at guard. Pryor is out of his element at tackle and more comfortable at guard. The NFL rule this season is if you activate 48 players on game day, at least eight must be offensive linemen. Help could come from the waiver wire and the practice squad. Might want to pray that Brandon Brooks, who starts the season on IR, makes a miraculous recovery. He must sit out at least seven games.
DEFENSIVE LINE (10) » Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Malik Jackson, Javon Hargrave, Vinny Curry, Derek Barnett, Josh Sweat, Hassan Ridgeway, Joe Genard Avery, Casey Toohill.
EMERGENCY MAN » Curry.
ANALYSIS » This is the strength of the team, if this group can play through injuries to Hargrave (pectoral muscle) and Barnett (ankle). There aren’t a lot of offensive lines that can, let alone want to, block these guys. There’s a possibility that Hargrave could go on short term IR, whichwould sideline himfor at least three games.
LINEBACKERS (6) » Nate Gerry, T.J. Edwards, Duke Riley, Davion Taylor, Shaun Bradley, Alex Singleton.
EMERGENCY MAN » K’Von Wallace.
ANALYSIS » This young yet generally experienced unit looks like it could evolve into a strength, particularly with the speed and athleticism of draft picks Taylor and Bradley. Wallace can help as he’s proven to be a physical player with instincts that would help playing in the box.
DEFENSIVE BACKS (10)» Rodney McLeod, Jalen Mills, Darius Slay, Avonte Maddox, Nickell Robey-Coleman, Will Parks, Craig James, Rudy Ford, K’Von Wallace, Marcus Epps.
EMERGENCY MAN » Mills.
ANALYSIS» Overall, this unit is intriguing in that Slay and Robey-Coleman (nickel) are high quality corners who are going to hold coverage long enough to make the pass rush better. The rest of the guys can run and get to the football. Sometimes you wondered if that was the case with Sidney Jones and Rasul Douglas.
SPECIALISTS (3) » Kicker Jake Elliott, punter Cam Johnston, long-snapper Rick Lovato.
EMERGENCY MEN» Johnston (K), Elliott (P), Gerry (LS).
ANALYSIS » It’s going to get interesting if any of these guys is lost. Johnston has the most promise in the emergency group.