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

The good and the bad from the Eagles first preseason game

Their first game of the new season is in the books and your Eagles are undefeated! Okay, so it's just a meaningless preseason game but the Eagles were quite impressive in their 28-27 win over the Jaguars. While the final score may make it seem like the two teams were evenly matched, if you watched the first quarter when all of the starters were in the game you saw a dominating performance by the Eagles. Here are some of the positives and negatives from the Eagles first preseason game.

Positives:

First team offense: The Eagles first team offense looked on point from the start, marching right down the field on their first two drives. Kevin Kolb looked sharp, hitting DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin for big plays and even showing his scrambling ability on a couple of nice runs. Sure, they had to settle for field goals, but you couldn't have asked for much better start for the offense this preseason.

Kevin Kolb: He was strong in his quarter of play, completing 6 of 11 passes for 95 yards. While it would have been nice for Kolb to get a TD pass, he showed good movement in the pocket and made all the right throws. He's got a ton of weapons surrounding him and Kolb looks like he's capable of finding the open man and letting the playmakers make plays.

First team defense: The Jaguars first team offense couldn't get anything going, failing to even get a first down against the Eagles first team defense. They weren't out there long, but the first team D had a ton of energy and put plenty of pressure on the quarterback and didn't allow the Jaguars to let a play develop downfield. While I would have liked to see the defense out there for longer, you can't complain about how efficient they were in shutting down the Jaguars.

Riley Cooper: Cooper made an immediate impact in the second quarter, making a nice catch on a long pass from Michael Vick for 46 yards. Given that he also spent some time with the first team offense on a three receiver set, Cooper, who finished with 3 catches for 61 yards, appears to be a lock to make the team.

Brandon Graham: No, he didn't have any sacks but he did put plenty of pressure on the quarterback and had some run with the first team on third downs. A positive first step for Graham, who looks like he has the pass-rushing ability to make an impact this season.

David Akers: You can't argue with 5 for 5 on field goals. The guy has still got it.

Michael Vick: Because of his turnovers, I debated for a while about putting Vick in the negative column but I saw enough explosiveness out of him to keep him in the positives. Sure, Vick did try to do too much, but he kept the offense moving, completing 11 of 17 passes and rushing for 50 yards. The bottom line with Vick is that he looks more like his old self and is going to be a bigger weapon for the Eagles on gimmick plays than he was last year.

Martell Mallett: Due to Mike Bell and J.J. Arrington's injuries, Mallett got a ton of work in the second half and finished with 60 yards rushing, a touchdown and 18 yard receiving. The former CFL star certainly made a strong showing but he's still a longshot to make the team.

Keenan Clayton: Clayton was all over the field in the second half, making 4 tackles and picking up a sack. With a motor like that he will make it impossible for the coaches to keep him off the team.

Negatives:

Quintin Demps injured: He left the game with a knee injury in the first quarter. Let's hope it's nothing serious because the Eagles don't have a whole lot of depth at safety.

Second team secondary: In the second quarter, the Jaguars burned the Eagles second team secondary repeatedly, allowing Josh McCown to thrown the ball all over the field. Joselio Hanson, Dimitri Patterson, Kurt Coleman and Trevard Lindley have a ways to go if they want to get significant playing time this season.

Joselio Hanson: Hanson got torched in the second quarter on a 73 yard touchdown pass from Luke McCown to Troy Williamson. Not only did Williamson blow by him but Hanson also committed a penalty on the play. Don't count on Hanson being anything more than a nickel corner.

Geoff Pope: Like Hanson, he got burned for a big play. Unlike Hanson, Pope isn't making the team.
(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)