The NFL‘s Aug. 29 roster cutdown deadline is just over a week away, and the Philadelphia Eagles have some decisions to make. While the Eagles have a stronger depth chart than nearly every team in the league, that doesn’t mean general manager Howie Roseman won’t have to answer a few tough roster questions before the regular season begins.
What will Philadelphia’s 53-man roster look like? Here’s our best guess now that the Eagles have wrapped up two preseason games.
Philadelphia Eagles 53-Man Roster Projection
Quarterback
- In: Jalen Hurts, Marcus Mariota, Tanner McKee
- Out: Ian Book
The Eagles signed Mariota to be Hurts’ backup, but there’s a chance McKee could usurp him by the end of the preseason. A changing of the guard remains unlikely — Mariota has 74 career starts and is a better stylistic match for Hurts, but McKee has certainly outplayed the veteran during the preseason.
Mckee, the 188th pick in April’s draft, is pacing Mariota in yards per attempt (7.8 vs. 5.1), average depth of target (10.6 vs. 9.0), and adjusted completion rate (69.4% vs. 66.7%) through two preseason games. The Stanford product will likely remain a game-day inactive during the regular season, but he’s at least made the QB2 conversation interesting.
Running Back
- In: D’Andre Swift, Rashaad Penny, Kenneth Gainwell, Boston Scott
- Out: Kennedy Brooks, Trey Sermon
The Eagles’ top four running backs appear to be locked in, although it’s still unclear how the rotation will work once the regular season begins. Swift is probably the most dynamic RB on the roster, but Penny is a battering ram when healthy, and Gainwell has been in Philadelphia’s system for two years.
Sermon has made a case for himself by averaging 5.4 yards per carry and breaking three tackles on 14 preseason rushing attempts. He stayed on the Eagles’ roster all season long in 2022 despite handling just two carries, indicating he’ll likely find a home on the club’s practice squad this year.
Wide Receiver
- In: A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins, Olamide Zaccheaus, Britain Covey
- Out: Devon Allen, Deon Cain, Jadon Haselwood, Johnny King, Joseph Ngata, Greg Ward
The Eagles have never been worried about receiver depth. In 2022, they had just four wideouts on the roster for the first two months of the season. Brown, Smith, Watkins, and Zach Pascal were the only Philadelphia WRs to earn targets last year.
Brown and Smith are locked in as one of the NFL’s best wide receiver tandems, while Watkins will likely hold onto his WR3 role after fending off Zaccheaus over the summer. Covey should make the Eagles’ roster based on his skills as a return man, although he suffered a hamstring injury against the Browns on Thursday.
Tight End
- In: Dallas Goedert, Jack Stoll, Grant Calcaterra
- Out: Dan Arnold, Tyree Jackson, Brady Russell
Goedert posted 702 receiving yards despite appearing in just 12 games a season ago. If he can remain healthy for a complete 17-game slate, Goedert could be a sneaky candidate to top 1,000 yards for the first time in his career.
The Eagles ranked 14th in the NFL in two-TE usage last season. With Pascal no longer on the roster to handle blocking-specific work, Stoll could potentially see more usage in the run game, but he’s hardly a contributor in the passing attack (just 19 targets and 15 receptions over two NFL seasons).
Calcaterra should be safe as Philadelphia’s TE3. Arnold’s NFL track record or Jackson’s athletic profile could be enough to get them on the Eagles’ practice squad.
Offensive Line
- In: Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce, Cam Jurgens, Lane Johnson, Jack Driscoll, Tyler Steen, Sua Opeta, Dennis Kelly
- Out: Josh Andrews, Julian Good-Jones, Fred Johnson, Roderick Johnson, Tyrese Robinson, Josh Sills, Cameron Tom, Brett Toth
Philadelphia still has the best offensive line in the NFL, and four of their five spots up front won’t change in 2022. But the team will have a new face at right guard, where Jurgens will take over for Isaac Seumalo. Jurgens is also the Eagles’ backup center behind Kelce — if he’s forced to move to the pivot in-game, Steen will take over at right guard.
While the Eagles reunited with Kelly last month, he’s not a roster lock. He’s struggled as a pass blocker through two preseason games, and there’s a chance Philadelphia would rather keep him on the practice squad. Andrews, Good-Jones, Sills, and Toth could all be candidates to take his place.
Defensive Line
- In: Fletcher Cox, Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, Milton Williams, Moro Ojomo, Marlon Tuipulotu
- Out: Robert Cooper, Olive Sagapolu, Caleb Sanders, Kentavius Street, Marvin Wilson
The Eagles always build through the trenches, and that didn’t stop in 2022 when Roseman used the 10th overall pick in the draft on Carter. Losing Javon Hargrave in free agency represents a tremendous blow, but a DT rotation that starts with Cox, Davis, and Carter could be among the best in the league.
Ojomo had to be stretchered off the field on Thursday but is thankfully only dealing with a concussion. If Philadelphia places him on injured reserve to begin the season, they could hang onto Street (52 career appearances) or Wilson, who just re-signed with the Eagles after spending each of the last two seasons with the club.
EDGE
- In: Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, Nolan Smith, Derek Barnett, Patrick Johnson
- Out: Tarron Jackson, Kyron Johnson, Janarius Robinson
Reddick, Sweat, Graham, and Smith are all roster locks. Barnett might’ve been on the outside looking in, but he’s probably safe after accepting a pay cut in July. Previously set to make $7.5 million (with $1.5 million guaranteed), Barnett agreed to slash his base salary to $3.5 million.
Patrick Johnson and Robinson could be competing for one slot in the Eagles’ front seven. Johnson played 315 special-teams snaps last season, the fourth-most on Philadelphia’s roster, so he has the edge.
Linebacker
- In: Nakobe Dean, Zach Cunningham, Christian Elliss, Nicholas Morrow
- Out: Quinton Bell, Tyreek Maddox-Williams, Ben VanSumeren
What a summer it’s been for the Eagles’ linebacker depth chart. Dean is back from an injury and will be a starter, but it’s entirely unclear who will be playing alongside him.
Displeased with Morrow’s performance after signing him to a one-year deal in the spring, Philadelphia signed Myles Jack and Cunningham to identical pacts in early August. But Jack retired after the Eagles’ second preseason game, throwing the team’s LB room into further chaos.
Had Jack not hung up his cleats, Morrow likely would have been a goner. Now, he has a chance to make Philadelphia’s roster, but it probably won’t be as a starter. That duty will likely fall to Cunningham or Elliss. The Eagles could still make a move at linebacker before the regular season begins.
Cornerback
- In: Darius Slay, James Bradberry, Avonte Maddox, Kelee Ringo, Josh Jobe, Mario Goodrich
- Out: Mekhi Garner, Eli Ricks, Josiah Scott
Although it looked like Slay and Bradberry could depart Philadelphia this offseason, the Eagles found a way to bring back both veterans. Philly will bring back the same starting trio of corners they deployed during the 2022 campaign.
However, the club will have some changes further down its CB depth chart. Zech McPhearson, slated to back up Maddox in the slot, tore his Achilles in the Eagles’ second preseason game and is out for the year, opening up a spot for Goodrich.
Ringo, a fourth-round rookie, was never going to get cut, but Jobe was competing for a roster spot with former Brown Greedy Williams. Philadelphia released Williams on Aug. 19, essentially guaranteeing Jobe a place on the team.
Safety
- In: Reed Blankenship, Terrell Edmunds, Sydney Brown, K’Von Wallace
- Out: Justin Evans, Tristin McCollum
Blankenship flashed as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2022 and now appears set to take over as the Eagles’ top safety after C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps left in free agency.
Who will play next Blankenship is an open question, as Philadlephia has rotated their other options during recent practice sessions. Edmunds earned the start ahead of Brown in the Eagles’ second preseason game, but it shouldn’t be a surprise if the third-round rookie sees more action as the year progresses.
Evans was an extremely difficult cut and was our last man off Philadelphia’s 53-man roster. If the Eagles decide to go light at another position, Evans should make the squad.
Specialists
- In: Jake Elliott (K), Arryn Siposs (P), Rick Lovato (LS)
Eagles fans’ most recent memory of Siposs includes his shanked fourth-quarter punt in the Super Bowl that Chiefs wideout Kadarius Toney returned for 65 yards. Nevertheless, he will return as Philadelphia’s punter next season after the Eagles waived undrafted free agent Ty Zentner on Aug. 19.