What will Howie Roseman do with Uar Bernard and Josh Weru when it\u2019s time to put together the 53-man roster? What are the Eagles going to do about cornerback depth? Would Roseman ever consider bringing back this all-time Eagles great?<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll have answers to these questions and many other pressing issues very soon as final cuts approach on Sunday, the practice week for opening day starts on Sept. 9 and the Commanders come to town four days later.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a busy and fun time of year as the Eagles get set to begin their bid for a sixth straight playoff season, something the franchise has never done.<\/p>\n
You know what\u2019s crazy? In 1954 and 1956 the Eagles played seven preseason games and 14 regular-season games. So the preseason was 33 percent of the season. Now it\u2019s 15 percent.<\/p>\n
As we settle in for the final preseason game of the summer, here\u2019s our latest edition of Roob\u2019s 10 Eagles Observations:<\/p>\n
A ROSTER HEADACHE FOR HOWIE:\u00a0The Eagles have a problem with their two International Pathways Program players. They\u2019re too good. Uar Bernard and Joshua Weru never played football at any level before training camp began a month ago, but they have both progressed to the point where we\u2019ve seen them go out in preseason games and hold their own and not embarrass themselves. They are both early in their development, they both have high ceilings and they both have a long way to go, but Bernard\u2019s strength and power is remarkable and Weru\u2019s speed, athleticism and instincts are impressive. Howie Roseman deserves a ton of credit for identifying their potential early on, and their position coaches \u2013 Clintt Hurtt and Jeremiah Washburn \u2013 deserve a ton of credit for developing them this quickly into viable NFL players. The problem is the Eagles would risk losing either one if they subject them to waivers. And when you see this kind of potential and invest this much time in developing them you don\u2019t want to lose them. But spots on the 53-man roster are so valuable, and can the Eagles afford to devote two roster spots to guys who are just learning the game and probably won\u2019t get on the field this year in any meaningful role:? Now, they could risk releasing them and hope they clear waivers and bring them back. It\u2019s hard for teams to claim guys during final cutdown because it means you have to make roster space by releasing someone you felt strongly enough about to make your team. But if you feel stronger about a player who got cut, you\u2019ll file a waiver claim, and that\u2019s certainly possible here. It\u2019s easy to picture either one \u2013 or both – getting claimed after what we\u2019ve seen from them this summer. Bernard is listed at 21 and Weru is 23 and it\u2019s not unrealistic to think they could both help the Eagles in a year or two. If you keep both or even just one, you have to go light somewhere else on your 53. This is such a deep roster, if you keep the two IPP guys you\u2019re letting go of a couple good players who could help you now. Ultimately, if Roseman wants to get guys onto the practice squad he\u2019ll cut the ones he believes are least likely to get claimed. And it wouldn\u2019t be shocking if that doesn\u2019t include Bernard and Weru.<\/p>\n
READY, WOOLEN AND ABLE:\u00a0Nearly 50,000 Eagles fans saw Tuesday night at open practice what we\u2019ve been seeing every day. Riq Woolen is a next-level playmaker. Woolen actually was quiet for the first stretch of training camp, but over the last couple weeks has blown up. He had that interception on Day 2 of joint practices in Foxborough when he stepped in front of a Drake Maye pass to A.J. Brown in the end zone and ran it back for a touchdown, celebrating with snow angels in the Patriots\u2019 end zone. And he picked off Jalen Hurts twice Tuesday night at the Linc, returning the second one for a touchdown. Woolen reminds of Lito Sheppard with his instinctive ability to jump routes and make big plays. He\u2019ll give up a big play here and there, but you can live with that when he\u2019s making so many plays. The Eagles haven\u2019t had an outside corner with five interceptions in a season since Asante Samuel in 2010, which is nuts. Woolen led the NFL with six INTs in his 2022 rookie Pro Bowl season and has 12 in 64 career games. I\u2019ll be surprised if Woolen doesn\u2019t pick off five or six passes this year. Quarterbacks are going to avoid throwing at Quinyon Mitchell because good luck completing a pass to whoever he\u2019s covering, and that\u2019s going to give Woolen plenty of opportunities to make big plays. And he\u2019s going to make plenty. Fun player.\u00a0<\/p>\n
THE LURIE EFFECT:\u00a0Eagles winning seasons before Jeff Lurie: 23 in 62 years. Eagles winning seasons since Lurie: of 21 in 31 years.<\/p>\n
WOULD HOWIE CONSIDER BRINGING BACK THIS FORMER EAGLE?\u00a0We know Howie Roseman loves bringing former Eagles back to Philly. He does it all the time (Marcus Epps, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Vinny Curry, Nick Foles, Jordan Howard, DeSean Jackson, Jordan Matthews, many others). We also know that with Eli Stowers struggling this preseason Roseman could be in the market for a second receiving tight end who could be an upgrade over Grant Calcaterra or E.J. Jenkins. Here\u2019s an idea: Zach Ertz. Ertz is reportedly healthy after tearing his right ACL in the Commanders\u2019 loss to the Vikings in Minneapolis last December. Ertz is 35, but he can still play. We saw him catch 11 balls for 104 yards in the 2024 NFC Championship Game and last year before he got hurt he was in the top 10 among all tight ends in catches and yards and on pace for 65 catches and 659 yards. He played with Jalen Hurts in 2020 and the first half of 2021, before he was traded to Arizona, so he\u2019s got some chemistry with the quarterback. Ertz has made over $80 million in his 13-year career, so he won\u2019t be looking for a big payday. He\u2019s a class act and still has strong ties with Philly through his Ertz Family Foundation. One side note to this: Ertz is fifth all-time among tight ends with 825 catches and only needs 11 receptions to break Harold Carmichael\u2019s franchise record of 589 receptions, and when he was traded back in 2021 he said he\u2019d love to come back one day and finish his career here. Probably unlikely but ya never know.<\/p>\n
JALEN HURTS STAT OF THE WEEK:\u00a0Jalen Hurts has thrown 104 touchdown passes and rushed for 60 touchdowns since he became the Eagles\u2019 full-time starting quarterback in 2021. Those 164 total touchdowns are 3rd-most among any QB since 2021, behind only MVPs Josh Allen (207) and Patrick Mahomes (166). His 173 total TDs as an Eagle \u2013 including nine as a rookie \u2013 are 4th-most in Eagles history but only 14 out of second place. Donovan McNabb had 244 in 148 games (216 passing, 28 rushing), Ron Jaworski had 187 in 142 games (175, 12) and Randall Cunningham 182 in 122 games (150, 32). Hurts has played 93 games.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
WHAT ABOUT BACKUP CORNER?\u00a0The Eagles have tremendous depth in a number of areas but not cornerback. The Eagles are in great shape with starters Quinyon Mitchell and Riq Woolen and slot Cooper DeJohn. But who\u2019s the third outside corner? Nobody has really taken ownership of that spot this summer. Jonathan Jones has been hurt most of camp and turns 33 in a few weeks. Mac McWilliams has been up and down. Jakorian Bennett, Kelee Ringo, Isaiah Bolden and Ambry Thomas have not been consistent or productive. Shaun Wade forced a couple fumbles in the preseason games but hasn\u2019t shown up other than that. And Michael Carter has had a good camp, but he\u2019s a safety and slot. This is one spot where you could definitely see Howie Roseman making a move over the next couple weeks and either signing or trading for a decent corner. Although they are hard to find. With the current roster, if something happens with Q or Riq the best move is to move DeJean back outside and Carter into the slot. That\u2019s a lot of moving pieces. Especially if Carter wins the safety battle with Marcus Epps. That would mean moving DeJean, Carter and Epps. Not an ideal scenario but probably the best option.<\/p>\n
MOCK PRACTICE SQUAD:\u00a0Howie Roseman usually picks up a couple guys from other teams when he puts together the Eagles\u2019 initial practice squad, but some guys I\u2019d like to see on the practice squad assuming they are released and clear waivers: WR-KR Erik Ezukanma, CB Kapena Gushiken, LB Keyshawn James-Newby, LB Deontae Lawson,C-G Jake Majors, S Maximus Pulley, TE Stone Smartt, RB Carson Steele, CB Shaun Wade, DT Zion Wilson, S Cole Wisniewski, WR-PR Britain Covey, TE Grant Calcaterra, OT John Ojukwu, DT Gabe Hall and S Andre\u2019 Sam. And we\u2019ll see what happens with Uar Bernard and Josh Weru.<\/p>\n
IS FLETCHER COX A HALL OF FAMER?\u00a0Jason Kelce is a Hall of Fame lock and Jason Peters is a near lock. But what about Fletcher Cox? I think he\u2019s got a pretty good shot. Cox is one of only 10 interior linemen in NFL history to make six Pro Bowls and win a Super Bowl. Of the nine others, six are already in the Hall of Fame (Bob Lilly, Joe Greene, Randy White, Buck Buchanan, Warren Sapp and Curly Culp), two aren\u2019t yet eligible (Aaron Donald, Chris Jones) and one has not made it to Canton (Michael Dean Perry). Cox\u2019s 70 sacks are 3rd-most among interior linemen over the last 25 years (behind Donald and Geno Atkins) and since sacks became an official stat in 1982, Cox is one of only four interior linemen with 70 sacks, six Pro Bowls and a championship. Sapp, Donald and Steve McMichael of the 1985 Bears are the others. Cox also made the NFL\u2019s team of the decade for the 2010s, which really helps his case. The voters take all-decade teams in high regard. And the Pro Football Monitor, which rates players on a variety of categories that go into Hall of Fame selection, has Cox as the 13th-highest rated d-tackle ever, behind nine Hall of Famers, two who aren\u2019t eligible yet and former Viking Kevin Williams. The other thing about Cox that the stats don\u2019t measure is that he was a beast against the run. A rare defensive tackle who could collapse the pocket and stuff the run. Just one 1st-team all-pro could be held against him \u2013 he made second team twice \u2013 and some voters could exclude Cox because he was never the best interior lineman in football, thanks to Donald. I\u2019m not a voter (although I should be), but if I was, Fletch would have my vote.<\/p>\n
WILL THEY REALLY BE THROWING TO SAQUON?\u00a0Maybe it\u2019s just a mirage and it won\u2019t be a big part of the game plan once the regular season begins. But throwing the ball to Saquon Barkley has been such a huge part of the Eagles\u2019 offense this summer I can\u2019t imagine it\u2019s not going to continue into the regular season. It makes sense. Barkley is such a weapon however you get him the ball, and he\u2019s really been under-utilized as a receiver in his two years here. In his six seasons with the Giants, he had the 5th-most catches among NFL running backs, despite missing almost all of the 2020 season. In his two years here he has the 23rd-most catches among RBs. Barkley has caught the ball well all summer, and Jalen Hurts throws to him constantly. He gives Jalen a nice comfort zone on high-percentage underneath balls that can generate big yards after the catch. If you saw Barkley\u2019s diving TD catch at open practice Tuesday you know what he\u2019s capable of. This is a dude who once caught 91 passes in a season. The Eagles haven\u2019t had a back with 50 catches since Miles Sanders in 2019 and they haven\u2019t had a back with 60 catches since Shady back in 2010. With A.J. Brown gone, there will be a lot of targets available for everyone else. And after what I\u2019ve seen these past few weeks, I\u2019ll be surprised if Barkley isn\u2019t in that 50-to-60 catch range this year.<\/p>\n
COREY CLEMENT IS A HALL OF FAMER:\u00a0Congrats\u00a0to Eagles Super Bowl star Corey Clement, who has been voted into the Glassboro High School Sports Hall of Fame. Clement rushed for a South Jersey-record 6,245 yards and 85 touchdowns with a 10.1 rushing average playing for the Bulldogs. He also set a South Jersey record with 478 rushing yards (on just 14 carries) in a game against Gloucester in 2012. Clement ran for 3,092 yards and 26 touchdowns at Wisconsin and spent seven years in the NFL as an undrafted free agent. His 108 scrimmage yards in Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis after the 2017 season are most in Super Bowl history by an undrafted rookie running back, as are his 100 receiving yards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What will Howie Roseman do with Uar Bernard and Josh Weru when it\u2019s time to put together the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":828856,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[349,319775,99],"class_list":["post-828855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-nfl","tag-roobs-observations","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=828855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828855\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/828856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=828855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=828855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=828855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}