Edge rusher Patrick Johnson, who was waived by the Eagles on Monday afternoon, was claimed on Tuesday by the New York Giants.
Johnson, 26, was released as the Eagles needed to create an extra roster spot for backup center Nick Gates. The Eagles basically needed to bring up three players from the practice squad — OL Gates, WR Parris Campbell and TE E.J. Jenkins — for Monday night’s game but could elevate just two. They elevated Jenkins and Campbell and had to find a roster spot for Gates.
So Johnson was waived to sign Gates and the Giants, still sixth in waiver claim order based on last year’s results, claimed him. It’s unclear if other teams submitted a claim for the edge rusher and special teams ace.
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Had Johnson cleared waivers, the Eagles would have likely wanted to get him back to the practice squad. Now they can't.
It’s not the end of the world but the decision to cut a player who has served a function and who has played extensively on special teams during his NFL career is worth questioning.
The Eagles drafted Johnson in the seventh round back in 2021 out of Tulane and he carved out a role. In his four years in the NFL, Johnson has played in 49 games with 2 starts. While he played sparingly on defense in Philly, Johnson had been a key member of the Eagles’ special teams units.
Johnson’s last significant time on defense came in 2022 but in his 49 career games with the Eagles, Johnson played a total of 892 special teams snaps. That’s by far the most of any Eagles player since 2021:
NFL
Patrick Johnson: 892
Zech McPhearson: 687
Jack Stoll: 616
Shaun Bradley: 594
Josh Jobe: 543
The top five Eagles in special teams snaps in the Nick Sirianni Era are all no longer on the 53-man roster, although Stoll is on the practice squad. The Eagles had great special teams unit in 2023 so this loss might hurt special teams coordinator Michael Clay.
Without Johnson, rookie third-round pick Jalyx Hunt was active for his first NFL game on Monday night. While Hunt didn’t get any snaps on defense, he did play 13 special teams snaps. That will be his primary role going forward.
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