Now that the Michael Vick saga seems to be settling down, it's time to take another look at the how the Eagles roster is shaping up. With a preseason game under their belts, several players made strong cases for being on the team. This is my third attempt at predicting the Eagles Week One roster. Below my roster projection I have also listed several players who are on the bubble and I gave reasons why they might not make the final roster. Changes from my previous projection are listed in bold.
Offense:
QB(3): Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick, Kevin Kolb
RB(3): Brian Westbrook, LeSean McCoy, Eldra Buckley
FB (1): Leonard Weaver
WR(6): DeSean Jackson, Kevin Curtis, Jason Avant, Jeremy Maclin, Reggie Brown, Brandon Gibson
TE(3): Brent Celek, Matt Schobel, Eugene Bright
LT(2): Jason Peters, King Dunlap
LG(2): Todd Herremans, Max Jean-Gilles
C(2): Jamaal Jackson, Nick Cole
RG(2): Stacy Andrews, Mike McGlynn
RT(2): Shawn Andrews, Winston Justice
Defense:
DE(6): Juqua Parker, Trent Cole, Victor Abiamiri, Darren Howard, Chris Clemons, Bryan Smith
DT(4): Brodrick Bunkley, Mike Patterson, Trevor Laws, Dan Klecko
LB(5): Chris Gocong, Akeem Jordan, Joe Mays, Omar Gaither, Matt Wilhelm
CB(5): Asante Samuel, Sheldon Brown, Joselio Hanson, Ellis Hobbs, Jack Ikegwuonu
FS(2): Quintin Demps, Macho Harris
SS(2): Quintin Mikell, Sean Jones
Special Teams:
K(1): David Akers
P(1): Sav Rocca
LS(1): Jon Dorenbos
Player who will start the season on the injured list: Stewart Bradley, Cornelius Ingram
Bradley's season-ending injury opens the door for another linebacker to make the team. Ingram forces the Eagles to go with Schobel as the backup, unfortunately. The only "bright" spot from the injury is Eugene Bright will make the team, and he has looked good.
Possible to start the season on the injured list: Victor Abiamiri, Shawn Andrews
Abiamiri seems to always be injured, so I am going to leave him in this category. Reports on Shawn Andrews haven't been good, with even Andy Reid having no clue when he will suit up.
Most likely to get cut/traded: Reggie Brown
I have removed Sheldon Brown from this category. He played extremely well against the Patriots and will likely keep his starting job. Reggie Brown will probably make the team, but, with his salary and low standing on the depth chart, he is definitely an option to be dealt.
Players on the bubble:
QB A.J. Feeley
Despite what Andy Reid says about him keeping his job, the addition of Vick pushes Feeley off the roster, even though he did play well against the Patriots. He's too valuable for the Eagles to just release him, so look for him to be traded for a late round draft pick to a team desperate for a veteran backup. I don't see a scenario where the Eagles will keep 4 quarterbacks.
RB Lorenzo Booker
I think we've seen the last of the Lorenzo Booker experiment. The Eagles don't need three small-ish running backs, so they would be smart to keep Eldra Buckley and get rid of Booker. Buckley, who is bigger and is a better North/South runner, had a tremendous game against the Pats, so it might be his job to lose.
RB/FB: Kyle Eckel
There is no way that Eckel will beat out Weaver for the starting fullback spot, so Eckel now appears to be competing with Booker and Buckley for a spot at running back. Eckel would have to be really good on special teams to make it.
WR: Hank Baskett, Shaheer McBride
Brandon Gibson is too talented not to make this team, so that is going to push Baskett off. The Eagles might be able to trade Baskett, who is still a solid special teams contributor, but he appears to be the odd man out. Perhaps Baskett could learn to play tight end? McBride made some nice catches against the Pats so look for him to spend another year on the practice squad.
OL: Mike Gibson, Fenuki Tupou, Chris Patrick, Paul Fanaika
There could be a spot for one of these guys if Andrews starts the season on the injured list. Otherwise, there isn't enough room to keep more than one backup at each offensive line position. Gibson would probably be the first choice from this group, he was on injured reserve all last season. Tupou and Fanaika were both picked up in the draft, but the Eagles are too loaded to keep either one. Tupou has the better shot and would be great on the practice squad.
DL: Jason Babin
Babin looked like a man amongst boys playing against the Patriots backups. He had the lone sack in the game, which will help his case. He has a good shot at beating out Bryan Smith for that last DE spot.
LB: Tank Daniels, Moise Fokou
With the injury to Bradley, there will be a battle between these two and Matt Wilhelm for the final LB spot. Tank is always valuable as a special teams guy, so he could earn a spot on the roster. Fokou was the last of the Eagles draft picks in the 7th round but has been impressive thus far. The Eagles will find a way to keep him around, whether it's on the team or the practice squad.
DB: Rashad Baker, Dmitri Patterson
Baker appears to be on the outside looking in, losing out on a spot to Macho Harris. If they are at all close, Harris will be the one making the team. Baker still has a decent shot if anyone gets injured in the secondary. Patterson also has a shot, since he spent the end of last season with the team, but it's going to be hard to budge any of the other DB's out of a spot.
That's the team as I see it. Did I leave anyone off? Who needs to be cut? Discuss in the comments section.
The Eagles have cut Baker now, so Macho Harris is going to make the team.
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