Eagles trade Andrews and White and cut 11 to finalize 2010 roster

The Eagles made their final cuts today, reducing their roster from 66 players down to the mandated 53. To get there, the Eagles cut 11 players and made a pair of trades, dealing guard Stacy Andrews to the Seahawks and linebacker Tracy White to the Patriots. Andrews, who was likely going to lose his starting spot to either Nick Cole or the newly acquired Reggie Wells, was dealt to Seattle for a late round pick in 2011. The Eagles were probably happy to get anything for Andrews, who has been a huge disappointment since being signed as a free agent before last season. As for White, the Eagles reportedly received a conditional 2012 draft pick from New England.

The Eagles also released the following 11 players:

S Quintin Demps
WR Chad Hall
S Macho Harris
TE Cornelius Ingram
DE Eric Moncur
WR Jordan Norwood
DT Jeff Owens
OL Dallas Reynolds
C A.Q. Shipley
OL Fenuki Tupou
WR Kelley Washington

Because the Stacy Andrews trade was not completed on time, the Eagles also cut Max-Jean Gilles but they expect to re-sign him again tomorrow.

The most surprising move was that the Eagles cut both Quintin Demps and Macho Harris, leaving them with only 3 safeties on the roster. I assumed that Demps was gone, given the move of Harris back to safety and the announcement that Ellis Hobbs was going to return kicks, but dropping Harris as well leaves them awfully thin. Perhaps the Eagles will scour the waiver wire for a safety that has been let go by another team.

None of the rest of the cuts are all that surprising, though WR Kelley Washington made a strong case to be kept around for his special teams play. Apparently the Eagles feel like Hank Baskett gives them enough on special teams to go with his strong knowledge of the offense.

The Eagles also cut the oft-injured Cornelius Ingram and chose to go with only 2 tight ends. Chances are the team will add a veteran blocking tight end sometime in the coming days to complement pass-catching tight ends Brent Celek and Clay Harbor. As for Ingram, look for the Eagles to stash him on the practice squad where he can try get healthy.

Rookie defensive tackle Jeff Owens was likely a tough cut for the Eagles to make. He played well all preseason but couldn't push Antonio Dixon off the roster. Owens is almost a lock to be added to the Eagles practice squad.

Also expected to be an option for the practice squad is Chad Hall, who both could be called upon should the Eagles return game need a spark at some point in the season.

The most surprising player to make the team was CB Jorrick Calvin, who was added in the last week in a trade from the Cardinals. Clearly, the Eagles see something they like in Calvin, who could be useful in the return game. Of course, he could also just be cut if the Eagles go out and sign a safety or a tight end.

Over the last few weeks, I have been making my own projections of the Eagles roster. Here is the Eagles actual roster, with changes from my final version in bold:

Offense:
QB(3): Kevin Kolb, Michael Vick, Mike Kafka

RB(3): LeSean McCoy, Mike Bell, Eldra Buckley

FB (1): Leonard Weaver

WR(5): DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Jason Avant, Hank Baskett, Riley Cooper

TE(2): Brent Celek, Clay Harbor

LT(2): Jason Peters, Austin Howard

LG(2): Todd Herremans, Max Jean-Gilles

C(2): Jamaal Jackson, Mike McGlynn

RG(2): Nick Cole, Reggie Wells

RT(2): Winston Justice, King Dunlap

Defense:
DE(6): Trent Cole, Brandon Graham, Juqua Parker, Darryl Tapp, Antwan Barnes, Daniel Te'o-Nesheim

DT(4): Brodrick Bunkley, Mike Patterson, Trevor Laws, Antonio Dixon

LB(7): Stewart Bradley, Ernie Sims, Akeem Jordan, Omar Gaither, Keenan Clayton, Moise Fokou, Jamar Chaney

CB(6): Asante Samuel, Ellis Hobbs, Joselio Hanson, Trevard Lindley, Dimitri Patterson, Jorrick Calvin

FS(1): Nate Allen

SS(2): Quintin Mikell, Kurt Coleman

Special Teams:
K(1): David Akers

P(1): Sav Rocca

LS(1): Jon Dorenbos

Players on PUP list: DE Victor Abiamiri

Players on IR: DE Ricky Sapp, S Marlin Jackson, S Antoine Harris

Jackson and Herremans activated as the Eagles are suddenly getting healthy

There was a lot of good news coming out of Lehigh today when it comes to injured Eagles making their return to the field:

Jamaal Jackson and Todd Herremans activated from the PUP list The Eagles o-line has been a question mark all offseason but the return of these two expected starters will help to clear things up. While Jackson still isn't likely to be playing the first few weeks of the season, the fact that he's practicing again shows he's well ahead of schedule. As for Herremans, he appears on schedule to play in at least one preseason game and should be good to go when the season starts.

Mike Bell, Macho Harris, Hank Baskett and Antonio Dixon also return to practice All four missed the preseason opener but are healthy enough to get back out on the practice field. Baskett needs to be out there and giving it everything he's got if he wants to make the team over Kelley Washington. Bell's return to practice was short lived as he had to be carted off the field with a calf strain.

Safety Antoine Harris placed on the IR After suffering a Lis franc injury against the Jaguars, Harris' season is over. Harris was signed just a few weeks ago to compete for a backup safety spot but probably wasn't going to make the team before the injury. The Eagles will be looking to bring in another safety now and worked out Terrell Skinner and Jamaal Fudge after practice today.

Amongst all the injury news, the Eagles also made one cut today, dropping punter Ken Parrish. Heading into camp, Parrish seemed like he had a decent shot of unseating Sav Rocca but clearly the coaches didn't see enough from him to make a change.

Eagles (already?) lose Marlin Jackson for the year

So much for Marlin Jackson being the new starting free safety for the Eagles. While participating in the Eagles offseason camp, Jackson, a free agent signed by the Eagles back in March, suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in his right leg. It was an unfortunate injury for Jackson, who has dealt with bad knees throughout his career, and one that will likely shelve him for the entire season.

When Jackson was signed by the Eagles, he was thought of to be a risk/reward signing; someone that didn't cost the Eagles much and could have had a big impact on the team. At only 1.5 million dollars per year over the next two years, the Eagles won't take a big hit if they are forced to eat his contract.

With Jackson out of the picture, the early word from the Eagles beat writers was that Macho Harris, who was going to try to play cornerback, would move back to free safety this year. Expect rookie Nate Allen to also be given a shot to earn the starting role.

Let's hope this early injury isn't a bad omen for the 2010 Eagles season.