The Eagles kept churning the bottom of the roster ahead of Week 2 of the preseason, and the headline move was a familiar one for a former draft pick.
Philadelphia waived Johnny Wilson with an injury designation while signing Brandon Hayes back to the roster. Hayes has now been signed by the Eagles for the third time since June. The team also placed cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields on injured reserve because of a shin injury and added center Zeke Carroll, an undrafted free agent who spent the 2025 season with the Minnesota Vikings.
Wilson’s exit is the most notable part of the shuffle. A sixth-round pick in 2024, he had been in the mix for the No. 5 receiver job entering camp, but knee and ankle injuries suffered last August kept him out of the 2025 season and slowed his push to get back on the roster. He had shown enough in the spring to land in initial 53-man projections, and he opened the summer with a solid run before losing ground to Darius Cooper and Elijah Moore.
Those two have put together strong summers and are candidates to make the 53-man roster. Wilson, meanwhile, missed the preseason opener and the joint practices this week because of knee issues, and the Eagles eventually moved on. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is now the lone fifth-round pick or later from the 2024 draft class still on the roster.
Philadelphia’s receiver depth is already being stretched. DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon are not expected to play because of hamstring injuries, and Elijah Moore is dealing with a neck injury. That made bringing back Hayes necessary, even if the move is only meant to help the Eagles get through the second preseason game.
Hayes was with the team during OTAs in May and June, then returned for a few practices in training camp before being waived again. He originally arrived after rookie minicamp tryouts, and this latest stint is about soaking up snaps on Saturday.
The Eagles are also thin at cornerback. Castro-Fields had been trying to play through his shin injury, and with him now on injured reserve, the group is even more limited.
The top three cornerbacks will not play, leaving Kelee Ringo and Ambry Thomas projected on the outside, with Mac McWilliams expected to work both in the slot and outside. Jonathan Jones is out with a shoulder injury, Jakorian Bennett has a knee injury, Shaun Wade is dealing with an eye/shoulder issue, and Isaiah Bolden just joined the team this week.
Philadelphia may have only five cornerbacks active for the second preseason game, or six if Michael Carter is included.
Carroll gives the Eagles another body at center. He has some familiarity with offensive line coach Chris Kuper from his time as a rookie with the Vikings last season, when Kuper was Minnesota’s offensive line coach. Carroll, a center at North Carolina State, was cut by the Vikings in mid-August last year.
The Eagles have Willie Lampkin and Jake Majors at center to get through Saturday, though both are expected to see time at guard. If Philadelphia wants to move Majors or Lampkin around, it will need a third center. Lampkin is close to a roster lock, so he may not play much.
That leaves the Eagles trying to patch together enough healthy bodies for Saturday while they get through the next nine days before the 53-man roster is set. Darius Cooper, Quez Watkins, Britain Covey, Samori Toure and Erik Ezukamna are all positioned for heavy workloads as the team sorts through the wide receiver depth chart.
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 🡒]