Eagles cut 16, set initial 53 man roster

With the Eagles needing to get settle their 53 man roster today, they made a series of moves, including cutting the following 16 players:

S Jamar Adams
RB Eldra Buckley
WR Chad Hall
CB Joselio Hanson
DT Anthony Hargrove
WR Johnnie Lee Higgins
OT Austin Howard
S Marlin Jackson
DT Derek Landri
TE Donald Lee
LB Greg Lloyd
G Mike McGlynn
WR Sinorice Moss
DE Daniel Te'o-Nesheim
OL Fenuki Tupou
OL Reggie Wells

The Eagles also released linemen Jose Acuna and Ryan Harris, with Harris being waived/injured.  Brandon Graham also remains on the PUP list.

There were a few surprises amongst the list of cuts, most notably that both Landri and Hargrove are out of the mix at DT.  Landri was very impressive in the preseason and Hargrove quickly developed into a leader so it wouldn't be surprising for both to latch on with other teams in the coming days.  Losing Hanson for nothing was somewhat surprising as well.  Apparently other teams figure it is easier to sign him off the scrap heap.  Cutting Chad Hall was a also bit of a surprise considering the health of Jeremy Maclin and Steve Smith, who apparently must both be ready to go in Week 1.  There was a ton of turnover along the offensive line, with Howard, McGlynn, Tupou and Wells all being shown the door after being on the roster last season.  The end of the Te'o-Nesheim era is disappointing though hardly surprising.  The former third round pick simply got beat out by Philip Hunt.

As for surprises amongst players that made the team, DT Cedric Thornton and S Colt Anderson are the most notable.  Anderson's special teams ability makes him valuable so it's nice to see the Eagles hold on to him.

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.  Expect a change or two before the season starts.

Offense:
QB(3): Michael Vick, Vince Young, Mike Kafka

RB(3): LeSean McCoy, Ronnie Brown, Dion Lewis

FB (1): Owen Schmitt

WR(5): DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Steve Smith, Jason Avant, Riley Cooper

TE(2): Brent Celek, Clay Harbor

LT(1): Jason Peters

LG(2): Evan Mathis, Julian Vandervelde

C(2): Jason Kelce, Jamaal Jackson

RG(1): Danny Watkins

RT(3): Todd Herremans, Winston Justice, King Dunlap

Defense:
DE(5): Trent Cole, Jason Babin, Juqua Parker, Darryl Tapp, Philip Hunt

DT(5): Mike Patterson, Cullen Jenkins, Antonio Dixon, Trevor Laws, Cedric Thornton

LB(6): Moise Fokou, Casey Matthews, Jamar Chaney, Keenan Clayton, Brian Rolle, Akeem Jordan

CB(6): Nnamdi Asomugha, Asante Samuel, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Curtis Marsh, Brandon Hughes, Trevard Lindley

FS(2): Kurt Coleman, Jaiquawn Jarrett

SS(3): Nate Allen, Jarrad Page, Colt Anderson

Special Teams:
K(1): Alex Henery

P(1): Chas Henry

LS(1): Jon Dorenbos

PUP: DE Brandon Graham

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.

On second thought, Marlin Jackson does sign with the Eagles

The Eagles have finally decided to dip their feet into the free agency waters, signing recent visitor Marlin Jackson to a two year contract with a base salary of 1.5 million for next year. It was odd timing for the Eagles, who allowed Jackson to visit with the media in Philadelphia and then leave town before they announced his signing.

Jackson is a 5 year veteran with the Colts who is coming off two ACL injuries. According to several sources on Twitter, Jackson, who played cornerback for Indy, will play free safety with the Eagles, meaning Macho Harris will have some competition for the starting job next year.

Given his talent but his bad knees, the Eagles made a shrewd move in signing Jackson to a cheap contract. Giving a big, physical defensive back 1.5 million to try to prove himself is really very little risk with a lot of possible reward. Should Jackson beat out Harris and be the starting free safety, he could earn up to 5.5 million dollars in incentives over the course of the contract. Should he fizzle out and prove unable to play with his injuries, the Eagles don't have too much salary to eat.

Could that be the only free agent the Eagles sign? Time will tell if they have anything else up their sleeve, like bringing back Hank Baskett or adding a backup running back.

Marlin Jackson leaves Philly without a contract

Marlin Jackson has left the building and he isn't an Eagle. At least not yet. Despite mutual interest between the Eagles and Jackson, the free agent cornerback left the Birds after two days of visiting without a contract. Apparently the Eagles need to see a little more out of Jackson physically before they decide to offer him a deal.

While there is still a chance the Eagles sign Jackson, who is now off to visit the Jets, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting. As I've stated before, while Jackson doesn't excite me too much, I'm all for signing him for the right deal, meaning on the cheap. Jackson's injury issues are worrying but if he manages to stay healthy, he could be a real bargain.

DB Marlin Jackson visiting Eagles, will he sign?

The Eagles finally have their first free agent visitor of the offseason as former Colts defensive back Marlin Jackson is in Philly today and tomorrow. Jackson, who previously visited the Ravens yesterday, is scheduled to undergo some physical tests, talk with team officials and then meet the media at 11 am tomorrow. There is some speculation that the Eagles will announce the signing of Jackson when he talks to the press tomorrow but word has come out from Aaron Wilson, a Ravens beat writer, that Jackson is already scheduled to visit the Jets later this week. If Jackson is still arranging more visits, he might not plan to be signing with any team just yet.

Whether the Eagles should offer a contract to the unrestricted free agent is another issue. While Jackson is a big, physical corner with tremendous talent, he is coming off of two ACL injuries in the last two years. The Eagles didn't seem to make a serious run at DE Aaron Kampman, who has a similar injury history, so why would the Birds want Jackson, who has even worse injury problems? Then there is the question as to where he will play. Can Jackson successfully move to free safety, the biggest secondary need for the Eagles, after playing cornerback with the Colts?

As is the usual rule with free agents, if the team lets them leave town after a visit, it's not likely they will sign with the team. If the Eagles don't announce a signing of Jackson at their press conference tomorrow, don't count on him joining the team. Personally, I don't mind the Eagles taking a chance on Jackson staying healthy for the right price. The way Jackson is touring around to several teams, however, he looks to be fishing for a pretty substantial offer. If he is, don't count on the Eagles to get involved in the bidding; it's not in their nature to overpay.

Eagles free agency update: Whole lot of nothing going on?

The NFL free agency period is in full swing but if you've been following the Eagles, you wouldn't know it. Besides the contract extension for Leonard Weaver and the release of Will Witherspoon, the Eagles have been strangely quiet over the last few days. After some initial interest in Julius Peppers, the Eagles seem to have taken a step back from the big names in free agency, focusing on depth players. It seems that the Eagles front office is just not interested in the weak unrestricted free agent class and might be looking to change their focus to restricted free agents, the draft and possibly making some trades.

Here are the latest players rumored to be linked to the Eagles:

CB Marlin Jackson The former Colt will be the first player to visit the Eagles. Jackson played cornerback for Indy in 4 games last year and is coming off some serious ACL issues. Given the injury history, the Eagles will need to examine him closely and they may plan to move him to safety since he is probably a step or two slower. Jackson is talented and big but the Eagles should be wary of his injury problems.

WR Hank Baskett The former Eagle and Super Bowl goat for the Colts is reportedly someone the Eagles are interested in. Despite his blunder on the onside kick in the Super Bowl, Baskett is a solid special teams contributor who already knows the Eagles offense. While I'm not particularly excited about the prospect of the Eagles signing Baskett, if it means Reggie Brown is finally let go, I'm all for it.

RB Mike Bell Former Saints running back Mike Bell is also believed to be on the Eagles radar. Bell is a veteran back that would fit in as the veteran backup to LeSean McCoy. He would be a nice compliment to McCoy because he is more of a bruising runner. Bell isn't that much better than someone the Eagles could draft in the 4th round but, for the right price, he would be a quality backup.

DE Jason Babin Actually, I haven't heard the Eagles had any interest in bringing him back, but you have to check out his video resume:

Wow, I don't know how 32 teams aren't knocking down his door.

WR Brandon Marshall Yeah, right. He is available, apparently, but the Eagles won't be getting him. Isn't it nice that the Eagles aren't linked to every possibly wide receiver anymore?