The NFL roster cuts deadline has passed and now we have our first look at how the Philadelphia Eagles’ depth chart is shaping up ahead of the 2025 NFL regular season. The Eagles are very likely to tweak their team configuration leading up to their Week 1 game but, for now, here’s the initial 53-man roster.
OFFENSE
Quarterback (3) — Jalen Hurts, Tanner McKee, Sam Howell
Running back (3) — Saquon Barkley, Will Shipley, AJ Dillon
Fullback (1) — Ben VanSumeren
Wide receiver (5) — A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jahan Dotson, Darius Cooper, John Metchie III
Tight end (3) — Dallas Goedert, Grant Calcaterra, Kylen Granson
Offensive tackle (4) — Jordan Mailata, Lane Johnson, Fred Johnson, Cameron Williams
Offensive guard (5) — Landon Dickerson, Tyler Steen, Brett Toth, Matt Pryor, Trevor Keegan
Center (2) — Cam Jurgens, Drew Kendall
DEFENSE
Edge rusher (5) — Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt, Joshua Uche, Azeez Ojulari, Ogbo Okoronkwo
Defensive tackle (6) — Jalen Carter, Moro Ojomo, Jordan Davis, Gabe Hall, Byron Young, Ty Robinson
Linebacker (4) — Zack Baun, Jihaad Campbell, Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Smael Mondon Jr.
Cornerback (6) — Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Adoree’ Jackson, Kelee Ringo, Jakorian Bennett, Mac McWilliams
Safety (4) — Reed Blankenship, Sydney Brown, Andrew Mukuba, Tristin McCollum
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kicker (1) — Jake Elliott
Punter (1) — Braden Mann
Long snapper (0)
RESERVE/PHYSICALLY UNABLE TO PERFORM
LB Nakobe Dean
Dean is eligible to be activated from reserve/PUP as early as Week 5. It remains to be seen when he’ll be ready to play.
RESERVE/INJURED
OT Myles Hinton (designated for return)
WR Johnny Wilson
Hinton is eligible to be activated from IR as early as Week 5 but he’s likely not ready to play as a rookie. Wilson is ineligible to play in 2025 after going on IR with season-ending knee and ankle injuries.
PRACTICE SQUAD
The Eagles can start signing players to their 16-man practice squad starting on Wednesday afternoon.
THOUGHTS
- The Eagles kept 26 players on offense and 25 on defense. Last year at this time, the Eagles initially kept 22 players on offense and 28 on defense.
- Speaking after roster cuts, Howie Roseman said the Eagles would’ve traded for Sam Howell even if Tanner McKee was healthy. Though he’s a flawed player, Howell is a good option relative to emergency third quarterback standards.
- Some questioned if the Eagles might cut Dillon and bring him back on the practice squad. The Eagles seemingly didn’t want to risk him signing with another team. With Saquon Barkley primed for another massive workload in 2025, no need to mess around with the running back depth behind him.
- I guess Jeffrey Lurie wasn’t kidding about reviving the fullback position! The Eagles kept BVS despite the fact he’ll likely only play a few snaps at most on offense each week. That said, I do think BVS looked comfortable as both a ball-carrier and pass-catcher. Most of his playing time will come on special teams, though.
- Darius “BLG’s official training camp crush” Cooper making the team shouldn’t be a shock since he was taking first-team reps and getting targeted by Jalen Hurts by the end of training camp. The undrafted rookie free agent showed exciting potential this summer. He should be active on game day but we’ll see if he will be. It helps that he might be in the mix at kick returner.
- I wonder how secure Kylen Granson’s spot is. The Eagles could conceivably look for a TE3 upgrade if one becomes available.
- Cameron Williams making the roster is a surprise. The 21-year-old didn’t have a good summer and it seemed like he was a prime candidate to be stashed on injured reserve/designated for return. Roseman was clearly concerned about him being claimed off waivers.
- Brett Toth making the roster is cool for a player who has long battled to establish himself in the NFL. He will likely be the Week 1 starter at left guard if Landon Dickerson isn’t healthy enough to play by then.
- Trevor Keegan making the roster is a surprise. The Eagles weren’t ready to give up on the 2024 draft pick despite him having a shaky summer. Keegan struggled snapping the ball when the Eagles got him reps as a center.
- It remains to be seen if Drew Kendall is the true backup center when Landon Dickerson is healthy. The Eagles might opt to move Dickerson inside again if Cam Jurgens gets hurt. And then have Toth or someone else fill in at left guard. Kendall did look promising in the preseason games, however. The Eagles’ willingness to give him left guard reps was also an interesting development. Maybe he eventually emerges as a factor in that spot.
- The Eagles are really counting on Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt to make big leaps this season. The depth behind them isn’t inspiring a ton of confidence. Joshua Uche and Azeez Ojulari have NFL experience but the Birds might get what they paid for in those low-cost investments. Ogbo Okoronkwo helps to raise the floor at this position; he’s a credible rotational edge defender. It would be ideal to get Patrick Johnson, who is a vested veteran, back on either the roster or practice squad if possible. He’s good for more depth and special teams contributions.
- The Eagles went heavy at defensive tackle. As it turns out, Vic Fangio talking up both Gabe Hall and Byron Young (“BY” as Vic calls him) was meaningful. The Birds have good depth on the interior defensive line. I wonder if Robinson might be a healthy scratch as a rookie.
- No surprises at off-ball linebacker. Nakobe Dean indicated he’ll be ready to return to action in Week 5. Dallas Gant and/or Lance Dixon would be good adds to the practice squad.
- Adoree’ Jackson appears to be the Eagles’ Week 1 starting outside cornerback in nickel defense with Cooper DeJean handling that role in seldom base defense snaps. We’ll see if Jackson is able to hold onto that role over the course of the season. Jakorian Bennett could be the next man up if he falters. Mac McWilliams might also be in the mix. Kelee Ringo was demoted out of the competition, so, it seems like he might be limited to special teams for the time being. It’d be good to get Parry Nickerson back on the practice squad to provide more CB depth.
- It once seemed like Andre’ Sam might push for a roster spot but he’ll probably be back on the practice squad instead.
- The Eagles currently have no long snapper. They’ll likely either re-sign Charley Hughlett after making some roster moves … or just sign him to their practice squad and utilize his temporary elevations (up to three of them) to save a roster spot in the short term.
- Who is the Eagles’ punt returner? Cooper DeJean likely won’t be the full-time answer there, though he could appear if the team needs a special teams spark within a game. Jahan Dotson might be the guy since he’s been repping there in practice and has previous experience doing it. Britain Covey was notably cut by the Los Angeles Rams, so maybe the Eagles add him to their practice squad to handle PR duties. They have some time to figure this out before playing the Dallas Cowboys on September 4.
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