RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - AUGUST 22: Uar Bernard #93 of the Philadelphia Eagles reacts against the New England Patriots during an NFL preseason football game at Gillette Stadium on August 22, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Now that the Philadelphia Eagles’ preseason schedule is over, the team’s focus shifts to cutting their roster down to the regular season 53-player limit before the 6:00 PM Eastern deadline on Sunday, August 30. Here’s our best effort at projecting what the INITIAL roster is going to look like. The Birds will likely make some tweaks (injured reserve placements, trades, waiver claims, etc.) before they actually play the Washington Commanders in Week 1. Note that this activity is about predicting what the Eagles WILL do as opposed to what we necessarily think they should do.
OFFENSE
QUARTERBACK: Jalen Hurts, Tanner McKee, Cole Payton (3) [3]
Hurts threw a lot of interceptions this summer, yes, but I challenge you to find a daily practice observer who feels like he had a bad camp. On the whole, the good outweighed the bad. It seems like he’s embracing the new offensive direction. The Eagles are hoping Hurts doesn’t get, well, hurt … because the depth behind him is very uninspiring. There was no clear winner from the Eagles’ training camp backup quarterback battle. McKee somehow looked worse than ever after previously showing encouraging signs in previous years. Dalton looks somewhat physically diminished, which tracks for a quarterback entering his age 39 season. Maybe he gets traded … but what price is he even fetching at this point? I wonder if the Eagles might trade both Dalton (for very meager draft pick compensation) AND McKee (included in a deal for another team’s quarterback, such as Anthony Richardson or J.J. McCarthy)? Payton has shown some promise but the Eagles didn’t really do a good job of getting him more action in the preseason. Utilizing him on special teams in the final preseason game points to them trying to find a role for him. This is a tough position to figure out.
OUT: Andy Dalton
RUNNING BACK: Saquon Barkley, Tank Bigsby, Will Shipley (3) [6]
Barkley looks poised for another big season and he might actually be involved as a pass-catcher more than ever this year, no, for real, I mean it this time?! Bigsby’s role is obviously limited with Barkley blocking his path to playing time but he’s simply too good to be a total afterthought in this offense. Shipley finished training camp strong and did enough to earn his RB3 role, which was evident by the team resting him in the third preseason game. Carson Steele was basically the entire Eagles’ passing offense in the preseason but I don’t think they need to keep him on the roster; he spent all of last year on the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad. Dameon Pierce looked good early in camp, got hurt and missed a lot of time, and then looked good upon returning … before maybe getting banged up again? Steele and/or Pierce will be on the practice squad. Jordan Mims was recently added to the roster to help fill practice reps/preseason snaps.
OUT: Carson Steele, Dameon Pierce, Jordan Mims
WIDE RECEIVER: DeVonta Smith, Dontayvion Wicks, Makai Lemon, Hollywood Brown, Darius Cooper, Elijah Moore (6) [12]
As the Eagles’ undisputed top receiving option, Smitty is going to have his first career Pro Bowl season. There’s every reason to believe in him. In a more perfect world, Wicks might ideally be WR3 … but he’s clearly WR2 in this configuration. Hurts was not scared to throw to him over and over while Smitty and Lemon missed most of camp. Lemon doesn’t look ready to be a starting receiver in Week 1 after missing most of the Eagles’ offseason practices but it seems like they’re going to try to make it work anyway. Brown didn’t have a great summer and Hurts threw a number of interceptions when the ball went his way … but his guaranteed money signals the Eagles holding onto him, unless he exits in a trade. The Eagles do seem to value Brown’s deep threat ability. Cooper proved that he deserves playing time on offense but it remains to be seen if the Eagles will actually give it to him. Moore is firmly on the bubble and I could see the Eagles cutting him since he’s a vested veteran who could be brought back on the practice squad. But the coaching staff has spoken favorably of Moore and he’s had a good summer and Hurts has thrown to him a lot. Plus, with Lemon looking a bit shaky, the Eagles could afford to go heavier here. Britain Covey is a contender to be temporarily elevated from the practice squad to help out at punt returner.
OUT: Britain Covey, Quez Watkins, Danny Gray, Samori Toure, Erik Ezukanma, Tahj Washington
IR: Johnny Wilson
TIGHT END: Dallas Goedert, Johnny Mundt, Grant Calcaterra, Cameron Latu (4) [16]
Goedert is the Eagles’ top tight end, which is fine-to-good. The depth behind him is not great. Mundt has built a reputation as much more of a blocker than a pass-catcher. He’s consistently been TE2 in the Eagles’ 12 personnel packages. Calcaterra is currently dealing with a back injury and the severity is unclear. I wouldn’t keep him and I know Eagles fans won’t want to see him on the roster. But I think the team likes him more than you do. Latu is a special teams standout. E.J. Jenkins and/or Stone Smartt are practice squad considerations. I have Eli Stowers, who is currently dealing with a hamstring injury, beginning the season on injured reserve/designated to return. He’ll be required to miss four games before being eligible to return. Using this mechanism also avoids the likelihood of him being a healthy scratch, at least early in the season. Stowers showed nothing this offseason to suggest that he’s ready to significantly contribute in 2026.
OUT: E.J. Jenkins, Stone Smartt
IR (DESIGNATED FOR RETURN): Eli Stowers
OFFENSIVE LINE: Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Tyler Steen, Lane Johnson, Markel Bell, Drew Kendall, Wil...
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