FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Eagles lost their second preseason game to the New England Patriots Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.
Now, the Eagles have one week remaining until final roster cuts. The Eagles have to get down to 53 players by Sunday, Aug. 30, at 6 p.m.
With that deadline approaching, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has difficult decisions to make on both sides of the ball. Roseman will be sweating the roster mechanics during the week, figuring out how many players to keep at each position and who gets the final spots on the roster.
The Eagles are huge fans of McKee internally and have passed on trade offers in the last two years. Even though McKee is entering the final year of his rookie deal, it doesn’t make sense for the Eagles to trade him for a Day 3 pick. McKee also carries more upside as the backup quarterback.
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Dalton’s arm has weakened in recent years. Against the Patriots’ defense, he completed 3 of his 10 passes for 44 yards and nearly threw two interceptions.
The Eagles have two options: trade Dalton for a late-round pick or release him during next Sunday’s cutdown. There’s a decent chance that the Eagles will find a trade partner. Our prediction is Dalton gets traded.
The Eagles acquired him from the Carolina Panthers in March for a seventh-round pick. They could get a similar return from another team.
Payton, the Eagles’ fifth-round rookie quarterback, is a development project as the third quarterback.
Running backs (3): Saquon Barkley, Tank Bigsby, Will Shipley
Shipley has run away with the third‑string running back job. He rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown against New England’s defense.
Steele had an awesome second preseason game. He rushed for 33 yards and racked up 84 receiving yards, including a 20-yard touchdown. The Eagles may consider keeping him on the roster.
Wide receivers (5): DeVonta Smith, Dontayvion Wicks, Makai Lemon, Hollywood Brown, Darius Cooper
Cuts: Elijah Moore, Britain Covey, Erik Ezukanma, Danny Gray, Brandon Hayes, Samori Toure, Quez Watkins
The decision to cut Moore is a difficult one. He has had a strong training camp, but missing Saturday night’s game with a neck injury does not bode well for his chances.
Without Moore having a clear role on offense or special teams, it’s hard to justify keeping him on Philadelphia’s 53-man roster.
Tight ends (3): Dallas Goedert, Johnny Mundt, Eli Stowers
The Eagles’ tight end position is weaker than expected. With Stowers not ready to make an impact as a rookie, the Eagles do not have a backup tight end who can fill Goedert’s role as a pass catcher. If Goedert misses time with an injury, Philadelphia’s passing game will suffer.
Cuts: Grant Calcaterra, Stone Smartt, E.J.Jenkins, Cameron Latu
Offensive line (10): Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, Markel Bell, Fred Johnson, Cam Jurgens, Drew Kendall, Tyler Steen, Landon Dickerson, Willie Lampkin, Micah Morris
Cuts: Myles Hinton, Cameron Williams, Jake Majors, John Ojukwu, Michael Jordan
Morris makes it over Majors because he has better physical traits, and the Eagles are more invested in his development after drafting him in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Defensive tackles (6): Jalen Carter, Moro Ojomo, Jordan Davis, Byron Young, Ty Robinson, Uar Bernard
Cuts: Zion Wilson, David Blay Jr., Gabe Hall
The Eagles won’t risk losing Bernard to waivers. Another option is putting him on injured reserve with a phantom injury. Either way, he’s not going anywhere.
Robinson became a roster lock after finishing with 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss and 3 quarterback hits against the Patriots.
Edge rushers (6): Jonathan Greenard, Jalyx Hunt, Nolan Smith Jr., Arnold Ebiketie, A.J. Epenesa, Joshua Weru
Weru beat Patriots rookie Dametrious Crownover for a sack. After flashing in back-to-back preseason games, the Eagles will struggle to hide him on waivers to get him onto the practice squad. At this point, Roseman may need to keep him on the roster.
Weru, the Kenyan native who had never played football before this season, has intriguing upside due to his freakish athleticism.
Cuts: Keyshawn James-Newby, Tarron Jackson, Jose Ramirez
The Eagles have significant depth at inside linebacker, which makes Lawson expendable. To keep Weru and Bernard on the 53, the Eagles will have to make difficult cuts. Lawson has flashed good upside and will be a practice-squad candidate if he clears waivers.
Cornerbacks (6): Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Riq Woolen, Mac McWilliams, Kelee Ringo, Jonathan Jones
EaglesPhillyThe EaglesThereNew England Patriots SaturdayGillette StadiumNowAugWithHowie RosemanRosemanNobody
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