The Eagles made a notable roster move on the eve of their preseason game against the New England Patriots, waiving wide receiver Johnny Wilson with an injury designation.
Philadelphia also signed center Zeke Correll and wide receiver Brandon Hayes, while placing cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields on the Injured Reserve List.
Wilson’s exit closes the book on a second-chance season that never really got off the ground. The sixth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft appeared in 16 games as a rookie, finishing with five catches on 15 targets for 38 yards and one touchdown. He then missed last year after tearing his ACL in training camp.
That injury was the latest setback for a player whose roster path had already become shaky. Wilson was reportedly off to a strong start in last year’s camp, showing better hands and looking like a candidate to handle the fifth receiver role. But once the ACL injury hit, that momentum vanished.
While Wilson was trying to get back, Darius Cooper took the opening. The undrafted rookie claimed that final spot on the 53-man roster last year and has carried that success into this training camp, where he has again stood out and could be in the mix to start in 2026.
Wilson entered this camp with an uphill battle anyway. He was competing with Cooper and Elijah Moore for the last one or two jobs in the receiver room, and both Cooper and Moore have established good chemistry with Jalen Hurts. At that point, the signs were pointing away from Wilson.
Now the Eagles have a clearer picture at wide receiver heading toward the 53-man roster. Cooper looks like a lock, and Moore’s chances have improved sharply.
For Wilson, the next step is simple but difficult: get healthy and try to prove he still belongs. At 6-foot-6, he has the size and talent to compete for a job, but the injuries have started to pile up, and that has become the issue Philadelphia could no longer ignore.
In Other News...
Cooper DeJean Practice Clip Has Eagles Fans Talking For The Wrong Reason
Joint practices usually provide the cleanest snapshot of where a roster stands before the games start counting, and one of the most watched matchups on the field Thursday in New England came with Cooper DeJean lined up across from DeMario Douglas. The Eagles defensive back entered the offseason with plenty of momentum after earning first-team All-Pro honors as a slot defender last season, so every rep against a quick, elusive receiver was going to draw attention from fans looking for clues about how Philadelphias secondary is coming together.
Douglas made the most of the spotlight, winning all three of their 1-on-1 reps by snapping off sharp cuts and exploding into separation, and the clip moved quickly through social media as Eagles followers reacted to what they saw. It is still only a practice setting, of course, but when a player with DeJeans reputation looks out of sync in a widely shared drill, it is the kind of thing that tends to linger until the pads come on and the matchup gets another chance to play out. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Bubble Players Suddenly Feel Like Real Trade Candidates
With roster cutdown day looming on Aug. 30, the Eagles are at the point in camp where the back end of the roster starts to matter as much as the headline names. The usual churn of preseason competition has turned into a real evaluation of who can help Philadelphia now, who has a future here, and who might bring back something useful if the front office decides to move a player instead of simply waive him.
That is why a few bubble cases suddenly carry more trade intrigue than they did a week ago. Andy Dalton, Smael Mondon Jr., Hollywood Brown, Jakorian Bennett and Fred Johnson all sit in different spots on the depth chart, but each comes with a mix of team need, contract situation and performance questions that could make them attractive to another club before the deadline. Nothing is settled yet, but this is the part of camp when a player can go from fighting for a roster spot to being discussed as a legitimate trade chip. [Read more 🡒]
Former Penn State Standout Sees Strong Eagles Camp Cut Short
Tariq Castro-Fields had been one of the more intriguing names in Eagles camp, trying to turn a strong summer into a legitimate push for a 53-man roster spot while working back from a heel injury. The former Penn State standout brought enough familiarity and upside to make him worth watching in a secondary that always seems to have room for another corner to force the issue.
Instead, Philadelphia moved Castro-Fields to injured reserve, which ends his training camp and likely his season before the real evaluation could even finish. The Eagles also waived/injured wide receiver Johnny Wilson while adding center Zeke Correll and wide receiver Brandon Hayes, a reminder of how quickly roster opportunities can shift at this stage of camp, especially for players trying to survive on the margins. [Read more 🡒]