SÃO PAULO — The Eagles have elevated two players from their practice squad for their season opener against the Packers in Brazil.
While the Eagles brought a handful of players to have options for this decision, they ultimately elevated offensive lineman Nick Gates and tight end E.J. Jenkins. Players can be elevated a total of three times during a single season.
These two elevations make sense because it gives the Eagles a backup center and a third tight end for this game, two positions they don’t currently have on their 53-man roster.
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Gates, 28, has played both guard and center in his NFL career. During Eagles training camp, he mostly played guard but did mix in at center a little bit. After final cuts, Gates said he hadn’t yet worked with starting quarterback Jalen Hurts, but it’s still good to have another option if something were to happen to center Cam Jurgens. Left guard Landon Dickerson could also play center in a pinch.
At tight end, the Eagles kept just Dallas Goedert and Grant Calcaterra on the 53-man roster. But Jenkins was the third-best tight end in training camp and the Eagles want to have three on game days so they have the option of utilizing 13 personnel (three tight end sets).
In addition to Gates and Jenkins, the Eagles also brought the following players with them to São Paulo: Andre’ Sam, Parris Campbell, Tyrion Davis-Price, Will Grier, Jack Driscoll.