The Philadelphia Eagles’ initial 53-man roster looks a little unfinished, and that’s by design.
The structure is there. The big pieces are in place. But the front office clearly still sees a few spots it wants to keep tinkering with, which helps explain why some moves never materialized before cutdowns.
General manager Howie Roseman said the Eagles explored possibilities with other teams, but the timing and the fit never lined up for player-for-player deals.
"I think that when we were talking to these other teams, the players they were interested in, felt like we were going to hold on to," said Eagles general manager Howie Roseman. "The players maybe we were interested in, maybe they felt the same way. With the way that practices went and the games went, there wasn't an opportunity to do some of the player for player trades.
"We like to get looks at guys just because of where our numbers were...I like the action and was trying, but it just didn't make sense for us at the time. We would've just been doing it to make a move."
That same logic shows up all over the roster. The Eagles are keeping players they’ve spent time evaluating, even if those players aren’t finished products yet.
Take the quarterback room. Yes, the Eagles kept four quarterbacks, and yes, that points to a team that still doesn’t have a settled QB2.
Roseman’s group still values the position the way it always has, and it isn’t eager to give away anyone it has spent all offseason studying. That includes Tanner McKee and Andy Dalton, both of whom disappointed in the preseason, but remained part of the equation rather than being dumped for nothing.
Cole Payton is another example. He didn’t earn a roster spot on pure performance, but the Eagles were clearly mindful of what happened last year when they waived Kyle McCord.
McCord moved on looking for a chance elsewhere after spending time on the practice squad, and the Eagles did not want to repeat that with Payton. Keeping him on the 53 prevents that outcome.
Roseman also made a broader point on Monday about how the league tends to judge young players too quickly.
"This is the only business that you look at how guys are doing right away and sometimes there are early judgments made," Roseman said. "Any other business, there's a long-term view and we see it on our roster, how [guys] developed over two, three, four years. I understand there are big resources into those guys, first and second round picks."
That long view is obvious in the way the Eagles handled their rookie class. They kept only six rookies on the initial 53, but several of the young players they’re betting on are clearly being treated as future pieces rather than instant fixes.
Makai Lemon had a rough preseason, yet he is still set to start at wide receiver in Week 1. Eli Stowers remains a work in progress after a disappointing summer. Markel Bell, Cole Payton, and Micah Morris were always viewed as developmental players.
The Eagles have had enough success with earlier draft classes that they know the bill is coming soon. They’ll eventually have to pay some of these young players, and that makes patience part of the strategy now. The payoff may not show up immediately, but the organization believes the return could be significant down the line.
Roster cutdowns also showed just how much talent was packed into Philadelphia’s 91-man group. Four Eagles were claimed off waivers, the most in the NFL, and each of those players was valuable enough that another team wanted to grab them.
That includes Myles Hinton and Cameron Williams, who didn’t work out in Philadelphia. Even so, the Eagles have built a strong offensive line over time, and that development continued this summer under new offensive line coach Chris Kuper. Drew Kendall, Markel Bell, and Willie Lampkin all helped turn what had looked like a weakness a month ago into a deep part of the roster.
"[I] have confidence that if those guys need to play, that they're ready to play," Roseman said. "I think you guys watch it and you see that they all have a potential to come in and play at high level."
Other teams saw the same thing and believed they could finish the product themselves.
The Eagles lost Cameron Latu and Kapena Gushiken on waivers, too. Tight end isn’t a deep spot, and the team did not want to lose Latu, but E.J.
Jenkins beat him out for the final tight end job. Gushiken became part of the numbers squeeze at cornerback and safety.
Jonathan Jones is getting healthy from a shoulder injury, which gives Philadelphia more room at corner, and Cooper DeJean can handle safety in base defense, allowing the Eagles to carry only three safeties.
Vic Fangio called inside linebacker the deepest position group on the team, and the rest of the defense has plenty of substance as well. Defensive tackle goes five deep, including three very good starters. The pass rush is also five deep and should be a strength this season.
The offense has its own layers. The Eagles improved their wide receiver depth by keeping Elijah Moore, even if the position isn’t as strong as it has been in past seasons. Running back is also deep.
So while this roster may not be as loaded from top to bottom as the Eagles have been in recent years, it still has real strength. There are quality players at the back end, and plenty of reserves who would start for other teams.
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The Eagles kept working the bottom of the roster this week, adding former Ravens cornerback Robert Longerbeam to the practice squad as another depth piece for a group that has been under a microscope. Longerbeam, a sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, missed last season with a torn patellar tendon, but Philadelphia is giving itself another long look at a young defensive back with some draft pedigree.
Longerbeam was one of four practice-squad additions for the Eagles, alongside wide receiver Danny Gray, offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie and running back Jaydon Blue. Its the kind of move that says the front office is still hunting for developmental upside at several spots, while keeping the cornerback room stocked with more options as the season moves forward. [Read more 🡒]
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The number shuffling also offers a small window into how fluid this part of the roster can be in late summer, when availability can change quickly and players have to adjust on the fly. Some of the assignments are straightforward, while others invite speculation about what players prefer and whether those choices could evolve again as the roster keeps settling in. It is a minor detail on paper, but for a team still sorting out its final look, even the jerseys tell part of the story. [Read more 🡒]