Perhaps he’ll return on the practice squad?
The Philadelphia Eagles did not make a trade on NFL trade deadline day but they did make a roster move.
They released tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, according to an official team announcement.
The Eagles originally acquired Albert O prior to the 2023 season. They sent a sixth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to the Denver Broncos in exchange for Okwuegbunam and a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Serving as a depth tight end, Albert O contributed next to nothing last year with one target and zero receptions in 57 offensive snaps played. He also only played five special teams snaps.
Despite him being a total non-factor, the Eagles decided to re-sign him in February. He entered the offseason program with a chance to earn a backup spot behind starter Dallas Goedert but he did nothing to deserve sticking around. Okwuegbunam had some injury issues and he never impressed when he was healthy enough to practice.
And yet, for some reason, the Eagles decided to burn one of their two injured reserve stash spots (meaning, putting a player on IR before cuts down to 53 but still being able to activate them for this season) on Albert O. We wrote at the time that it was a weird choice.
And a bad one since they could’ve instead used it on, say, 2024 draft pick Dylan McMahon, who was cut and then signed to the Eagles’ practice squad … only to be quickly poached away by the Los Angeles Rams. The other IR stash spot was used on another 2024 pick in Ainias Smith, who wasn’t obviously injured at the time, and he still remains under team control.
The Eagles had opened Albert O’s practice window on October 16, giving them 21 days to either activate him to the roster or shut him down for the season. The Eagles chose another route altogether and released him. Perhaps they’ll bring him back on the practice squad? It’s worth noting that E.J. Jenkins is out of temporary elevations, though the Eagles still do have C.J. Uzomah available to be elevated if they’re in need of more tight end depth.
Speaking of tight ends, it’ll be interesting to see if Dallas Goedert is back at practice this week. He’s missed three games with a hamstring injury and the Eagles not previously putting him on IR suggests they had hope he might be able to play in Week 10.
