Eagles sign former Giants tight end Will Tye to practice squad

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The practice squad is generally reserved for unknown rookies off the street, free agent castoffs and guys trying to stick around for one last shot at the NFL.

Will Tye is unusually accomplished for the practice squad, but that’s where he finds himself after the Eagles signed him Tuesday.

Tye caught 90 passes for 859 yards and four touchdowns with the Giants in 2015 and 2016. He had the 16th-most receptions by a tight end during that two-year span, just seven fewer than Rob Gronkowski.

The Giants released him in September 2017, and he caught four passes for 38 yards in three games with the Jets in 2017 before being released. He spent the rest of the year on the Patriots’ practice squad and has been out of football since the Patriots released him in September.

The Eagles flip-flopped practice squad tight ends Tuesday, signing Tye and releasing Billy Brown.

NFL teams are allowed to keep up to four players on the practice squad who have two years of service. The four others cannot have played more than six career games.

Because Tye did not earn a third year of service credit for his brief stay with the Jets last year, he’s still eligible for the practice squad.

Tye, who turned 27 last week, played college football at Florida State before graduating from SUNY Stony Brook. He signed with the Giants in 2015 as an undrafted free agent.

The Eagles have Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert and Josh Perkins on the active roster and designated Richard Rodgers to return from injured reserve, so Tye is now the fifth tight end on the roster.

Tye caught 16 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown in four games against the Eagles. That’s his most career catches and yards against any team.

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