The Eagles made a bunch of moves to get down to 53 players by Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline.
Now it’s time to figure out the practice squad.
Practice squads can now hold 16 players but the Eagles will get 17 players with Australian offensive tackle Laekin Vakalahi, who has an international exemption.
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The Eagles announced 14 players on their practice squad Wednesday:
C Dylan McMahon: The Eagles took a chance by waiving their sixth-round pick but McMahon is returning to the practice squad. The rookie from NC State had a strong training camp and preseason but still needs to develop.
OL Nick Gates: The 28-year-old veteran is going to sign to the practice squad with the expectation to be elevated in Week 1, per ESPN. Gates played mostly guard this summer after signing with the Eagles. He has played in 44 games with 29 starts in his NFL career.
TE Jack Stoll: The Eagles' TE2 from the last couple years was with the Giants this offseason and is now coming back to the Eagles. He could be the Eagles' third tight end (or maybe even second) for Week 1 in Brazil. In three years with the Eagles (2021-23), Stoll played in 50 games with 26 starts. He caught just 20 passes for 183 yards.
News
DT Gabe Hall: The UDFA from Baylor didn't have a tremendous rookie training camp but was one of the Eagles' top undrafted rookies. He will stick around and develop.
TE E.J. Jenkins: Jenkins was clearly the Eagles’ third-best tight end in training camp but the Birds elected to keep just two on their initial 53-man roster. Jenkins is a converted wide receiver but showed great growth this summer.
S Andre’ Sam: The rookie safety from LSU had a nice summer. He made some plays in practices and games.
LB Oren Burks: The 29-year-old missed most of Eagles’ training camp but returned late in practice and for the final preseason game and looked good. Burks is a former third-round pick and has played in 91 career games with 15 starts in his six-year NFL career.
WR Parris Campbell: Before the trade for Jahan Dotson, Campbell was the favorite to be the Eagles’ third wide receiver. But the Dotson trade was bad news for Campbell. The 27-year-old former Colts’ second-round pick has played five years in the NFL. His best season came in 2022 with the Colts; he had 63 catches for 623 yards and 3 touchdowns.
RB Tyrion Davis-Price: Had the Eagles kept a fourth running back, it would have been Davis-Price, who was a third-round pick of the 49ers back in 2022. Davis-Price had a strong summer and a good third preseason game until he fumbled the ball away.
QB Will Grier: The Eagles were never going to keep Grier on their 53-man roster but he has familiarity with OC Kellen Moore and the Eagles must like the dynamic in their quarterback room.
LB Brandon Smith: After spending the 2023 season on the Eagles’ practice squad, the Penn State product is back. Smith was a fourth-round pick by the Panthers in 2022. Smith actually got elevated and played in two games for the Eagles last season — he didn’t play on defense but got 31 special teams snaps.
S Caden Sterns: The Eagles brought in Sterns after he was released by the Panthers with a failed physical. That happened a couple days after he was claimed off waivers when the Broncos cut him. The Eagles are obviously intrigued by Sterns because he isn’t healthy — they cut him with a failed physical designation — and still kept him around.
WR Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint: The UDFA from Georgia was with the Commanders this summer. Maybe when the Eagles were doing their homework on Dotson, they got a long look at him. Rosemy-Jacksaint (6-1-205) had 34 catches for 535 yards and 4 touchdowns in his senior season at Georgia.
*OT Laekin Vakalahi: Vakalahi (6-5, 320) was signed by the Eagles after having never played a down of football. Vakalahi was found by the Eagles when Vakalahi’s parents were on vacation in Hawaii and struck up a conversation with Eagles international scout Chris Naeole. Vakalahi was born in Auckland, New Zealand, but was raised in Melbourne, Australia. He previously played junior rugby league in Brisbane. During the summer, Vakalahi worked as the third-team left tackle and had some good moments.
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