Your 2009 Philadelphia Eagles Roster

The Eagles made their final cuts today, reducing their roster from 72 players down to the mandated 53. To get there, the Eagles made a series of moves. First, the Eagles placed Michael Vick on their roster exempt list until Week 3, meaning that Vick can't practice with the team until that time. The Eagles then released 17 players and placed OT Fenuki Tupou on Injured Reserve.

The following 17 players were cut:

WR Danny Amendola
RB Lorenzo Booker
LB Tank Daniels
FB Kyle Eckel
G Paul Fanaika
DE Josh Gaines
G Mike Gibson
CB Jack Ikegwuonu
DT Dan Klecko
S Reshard Langford
FB Marcus Mailei
TE Rob Myers
C Dallas Reynolds
TE Matt Schobel
DE Bryan Smith
LB Matt Wilhelm
CB Trae Williams

Of the list, there aren't too many surprises, except for the fact that the Eagles went with 7 wideouts. Brandon Gibson deserved to make the team so perhaps the Eagles will try to trade Reggie Brown in the next few days.

The exemption of Vick allowed the Eagles to keep A.J. Feeley around as the 3rd QB. That gives them a few weeks to try to trade Feeley. It's a smart move because a quarterback always goes down early in the season and there will be a desperate team out there.

The emergence of Jason Babin meant the Eagles could rid themselves of both Dan Klecko and Bryan Smith. While Klecko can still play, Smith was always just too much of a project as an under-sized lineman. It's too bad the Eagles wasted a 3rd rounder on him.

Thankfully, the Lorenzo Booker era is over in Philadelphia. Booker, who was acquired for a 4th round pick last year with visions of him being Westbrook-lite, never amounted to anything as an Eagle. The fact that he got beat out by undrafted rookie Eldra Buckley tells you all you need to know about Booker.

Jack Ikegwuonu certainly wasn't what the Eagles hoped for after they drafted him last season and stashed him on Injured Reserve. At the beginning of training camp, many thought that Ikegwuonu was nearly assured of making the team. After he never really did anything of note, he was beat out by Dimitri Patterson for the 5th cornerback spot.

The Eagles also went with only two tight ends for now, cutting both Matt Schobel and Rob Myers. I would expect that they work to pick up a better backup than Tony Curtis over the next few days.

Some of the players cut, like Danny Amendola, Mike Gibson and Rob Myers, have a good shot of coming back to the Eagles on the practice squad. Amendola in particular emerged as a quality prospect who could possibly make an impact with the Eagles a year down the road.

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): Donovan McNabb, Kevin Kolb, A.J. Feeley, (Michael Vick)

RB(3): Brian Westbrook, LeSean McCoy, Eldra Buckley

FB (1): Leonard Weaver

WR(7): DeSean Jackson, Kevin Curtis, Jason Avant, Jeremy Maclin, Hank Baskett, Reggie Brown, Brandon Gibson

TE(2): Brent Celek, Tony Curtis

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, Jason Babin

DT(3): Brodrick Bunkley, Mike Patterson, Trevor Laws

LB(6): Chris Gocong, Akeem Jordan, Joe Mays, Omar Gaither, Moise Fokou, Tracy White

CB(5): Asante Samuel, Sheldon Brown, Joselio Hanson, Ellis Hobbs, Dimitri Patterson

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

The Eagles sign tight end Tony Curtis

As was rumored a few days ago, the Eagles have signed tight end Tony Curtis, according to Brian Seltzer on Twitter. According to Seltzer, Curtis is recovering from a high ankle sprain and will continue his rehab with the Eagles and should have a good shot at making the team. As a veteran with some NFL experience, if healthy, Curtis should beat out Eugene Bright and Rob Myers for a spot on the roster. There is also the possibility that the Eagles could be looking to cut oft-injured Matt Schobel since he has barely been healthy this preseason, making Curtis a possibility for the second tight end spot.

The Eagles are extremely thin at tight end so the signing of a veteran, even though he is injured, is a solid move to try to build some depth. Curtis only has 11 career catches in two NFL seasons with the Cowboys but those 32 games of real experience give him an upper hand over two unproven tight ends like Myers and Bright. Time will tell if he is healthy enough to make a contribution, however.

Eagles close to signing tight end Tony Curtis

It's not an earth-shattering move, but when you are desperate for some depth at tight end, these are the kind of signings that happen. According to an NFL.com blog, the Eagles are "on the verge" of signing veteran tight end Tony Curtis. Curtis, who had spent two years with the Cowboys and part of this preseason with the Chiefs, has been brought in by the Eagles, who are evaluating him with a plan to sign him if he passes a physical. Curtis was battling injuries this past offseason, so there is no guarantee that he will be healthy enough to contribute.

Curtis, who had 11 career catches and three touchdowns in two full seasons in Dallas, is likely being looked at as competition for the 3rd tight end spot. Currently, the Eagles have Matt Schobel, Eugene Bright and Rob Myers battling for two backup spots behind starter Brent Celek. Schobel appears likely to make the team, so that would leave Bright, Myers and Curtis in a fight for the third spot. After a solid game last night, Myers might be making his move for the spot, but Curtis actually has experience in the NFL and could quickly vault onto the roster.

Again, this move is hardly exciting considering he only had 8 catches last year, but Curtis could have a role to play given how little depth the Eagles have at tight end. Should anything serious happen to Brent Celek, it's safe to say the Eagles are screwed.