The Eagles made a change to their wide receiver group ahead of Sunday’s deadline to cut rosters to 90 players.
They announced that they have signed Tahj Washington to the active roster. Brandon Hayes was waived in a corresponding move.
Washington was a 2024 seventh-round pick by the Dolphins and was with the team until being waived earlier this week. He appeared in six games last season and had three catches for 37 yards.
Hayes signed with the Eagles three weeks ago. He was undrafted out of Southeastern Louisiana.
DeVonta Smith, Makai Lemon, Dontayvion Wicks, Hollywood Brown, Elijah Moore, Darius Cooper, Britain Covey, Quez Watkins, Danny Gray, Samori Toure, and Erik Ezukanma are also on the roster at receiver.
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Veteran running back Miles Sanders was arrested in Pennsylvania in June for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
KDKA reports that court records show Sanders was arrested in Churchill Borough outside of Pittsburgh on June 8. Per the criminal complaint, an officer found Sanders “in and out of consciousness” while in the driver’s seat of a car in the middle of the road. Sanders failed a field sobriety test and tested positive for alcohol on a breath test. Marijuana was also found in the car.
“This is a private matter that has not even reached the preliminary hearing stage and there will be no further comment,” Sanders’s attorney Phil DiLucente said.
Sanders is a free agent after playing for the Cowboys last season. He worked out for the Raiders in July.
Za’Darius Smith’s retirement took the Eagles by surprise last season and the veteran outside linebacker explained the decision in his first press conference since coming out of retirement to join the Falcons.
Smith said on Tuesday that family matters led to the decision to step away from the game because it was the only way he could be with his mother during a difficult time.
“I wasn’t supposed to retire,” Smith said. “I wasn’t going to tell the story, but I’m going to tell it. I got a phone call from my mom’s doctor telling me that she don’t have much longer to be on this Earth. I let the team know. Obviously they wasn’t trying to let me leave, but that was the only thing I had left — to retire. So I retired.”
Smith said that his grandmother and father also passed away soon after his mother died last year and got emotional when asked about why he decided to return to action this year.
“This is my happy place,” Smith said. “Come back, play football. I was in a dark place, but, you know, coming out, running out on the field, the fans — not just the fans, man, the joy that I get from winning and just getting sacks.”
Smith worked out for the Browns after speaking to General Manager Andrew Berry and confirmed that he expected to sign with the team, but the financial offer wasn’t where he wanted it to be and the Falcons moved in because of a bigger need in the wake of Jalon Walker’s torn ACL and James Pearce’s suspension. He added that his mother “always wanted me to be in Atlanta with the Falcons” because it was close to the family’s home in Alabama, so the family ties wound up tugging at Smith on both ends of his brief retirement from the NFL.
The owner of the Philadelphia Eagles didn’t have to go far to congratulate the newest selection for the franchise’s Hall of Fame.
The team announced on Wednesday that owner Jeffrey Lurie is this year’s inductee. Lurie’s induction will take place during the team’s Monday night game against the Cowboys on October 26.
“Being selected to the Eagles Hall of Fame is one of the greatest honors of my life,” Lurie said in a statement. “It is truly rewarding to know that I will now join a distinguished group of legends who have all made significant contributions to this organization. From the very moment I became owner, I have been deeply committed to delivering a champion – both on and off the field – that our fans and city can be proud of. This franchise has given so much to me and my family over the past 32 years, and for that, I will be forever grateful. I would like to thank the selection committee for their support and am humbled that they felt I was deserving of this recognition.”
Lurie purchased the Eagles in 1994 and the team has won the only two Super Bowls in franchise history since he took control of the franchise. They have also appeared in two other Super Bowls and fell short in four NFC title games over the last 30-plus years.
At a time when the Chiefs are preparing to leave Kansas City, Missouri, for Kansas City, Kansas, the Browns are preparing to leave Cleveland for Brook Park, Ohio, and the Bears are preparing to leave Chicago for a suburban site in either Illinois or Indiana, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro says there’s no chance of the Eagles leaving the city of Philadelphia.
The Eagles said in a letter to season ticket holders that they may leave Lincoln Financial Field for “the possibility of a brand new stadium in the region,” but Shapiro insists that the only place in “the region” the Eagles will play is Philadelphia.
“Here’s what I can tell you for sure: It’s going to be in the city of Philadelphia,” Shapiro said, via TheAthletic.com. “And we’ll work with the Eagles once they determine what it is that they’re interested in doing. But I appreciate the thoughtful and deliberative approach that they’ve taken to this process.”
Shapiro can’t actually stop the Eagles from moving out of the city, but NFL teams rarely build new stadiums without the help of either direct taxpayer funds or taxpayer-funded infrastructure, and that would give Shapiro a lot of influence over any stadium plans.
“The Eagles organization is thinking about what they want for the future, and we know that the future is going to be here in Philadelphia,” Shapiro said. “They’re going to think about what they want as a home for the next 30, 40, 50 years, and then we’ll have a conversation when they’re ready to have it.”
Shapiro doesn’t sound interested in a conversation about any home for the Eagles other than Philadelphia.
The Eagles dropped a pair of players from their 90-man roster on Monday.
They announced that they have released safety J.T. Gray and waived running back Ja’Quinden Jackson. Jackson was dropped with an injury designation after he was taken to the hospital after being injured on the opening kickoff of Saturday’s game in New England.
Jackson had full movement in his extremities and traveled home with the Eagles that night. He will revert to injured reserve if he clears waivers.
Gray signed with the Eagles in March. He spent seven years as a core special teams player for the Saints before splitting the 2025 season between the Buccaneers and Broncos.
Eagles wide receiver Makai Lemon returned to practice last week after an extended absence due to a hamstring injury and the rookie is confident that he’ll have enough practice time to be at full speed for the season opener.
Lemon said “for sure” to a question about whether there’s enough time for him to feel like himself for the Eagles’ matchup with the Commanders and said all of the mental reps he took while off the field have served to prepare him for the task at hand. The first-round pick’s process will include as much time with quarterback Jalen Hurts as he can get.
“Each and every day I feel like that chemistry and that work never stops,” Lemon said. “Each and every day after practice, just talking to him whenever I can. I feel like anytime I can build that chemistry, it’s good.”
Lemon dealt with a hamstring injury in the same leg during the offseason program and said he isn’t worried about further issues on that front.
“I feel pretty confident,” Lemon said. “Just learning from my mistakes from the previous times, working with the trainers, setting a good plan for me, just being a professional off the field.”
The Eagles picked Lemon as part of their plans for life without A.J. Brown in 2026, so anything he can do to ensure he’s on the field and playing at a high level over the next few weeks will be welcome in Philadelphia.
The Eagles shared a positive update on running back Ja’Quinden Jackson after a scary moment in Saturday’s game against the Patriots.
Jackson was taken off the field at Gillette Stadium in an ambulance and transported to a local hospital after being injured on the opening kickoff of the game. Jackson’s agent shared that he had full movement and a negative CT scan upon being evaluated by doctors.
The Eagles said that Jackson was later released from the hospital and that he returned to Philadelphia with the rest of the team.
Jackson signed with the Eagles earlier this month. He spent last season on Jacksonville’s practice squad.
As the Browns and Raiders work through their starting quarterbacks for Week 1, the Eagles are still trying to figure out their QB2.
After Saturday’s preseason game between Philadelphia and New England, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said “it’s still a competition” between Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee.
“I think both the guys are battling, and I’m really confident in both of the guys,” Sirianni told reporters after the game. “We’ll see where that goes.”
Dalton has been getting first dibs during the preseason games, but that’s apparently not a tipping of Sirianni’s hand.
“The reason Andy is going in first -- in practice they’re still rotating,” Sirianni said. “Andy is going in first because he’s not going to play as much as Tanner because he has had more experience and he has more experience within this type of system, and Tanner needs to continue to play there because I think you saw the improvements there from Tanner. So we got to continue to give both of them opportunities within practice and potentially games.”
On Saturday, Dalton got the start and played 22 snaps. McKee had 38 snaps. Dalton completed three of 10 passes for 44 yards; McKee connected on 16 of 22 for 173 yards and two touchdowns.
McKee’s performance drew praise from Sirianni. "[I] thought today he did some good things,” Sirianni said. “You know, there will be plays that we’re going to have to correct and there was a lot of positives. I know stat-wise he came out having a pretty good game, and so, but obviously for all of us there will be corrections within it. But, yeah, thought he did some good things. Made some nice plays. Had a couple fourth downs that we would have liked to convert. Not saying those are his fault in that situation, but those fourth downs hurt us, not converting there.”
Dalton definitely has the experience. Now 38, he started immediately for the Bengals as a rookie in 2011. After nine years with the Bengals, Dalton has bounced from the Cowboys to the Saints to the Panthers (where he spent three seasons) to Philly. He has 169 career regular-season starts.
McKee, in contrast, has two starts in three seasons with the Eagles. He has created preseason buzz during his much shorter career, but he has yet to be entrusted with the primary backup spot behind Hurts.
Ja’Quinden Jackson’s agent offered good news on the Eagles running back’s health after a scary incident on the opening kickoff Saturday night.
Damien Butler of CMV Sports said in a statement that Jackson is “awake, has full movement and use of all four limbs, and his CT scan came back negative.”
“Tonight, above everything else, we thank God that Ja’Quinden is doing well after what was an incredibly frightening moment,” Butler said.
“What happened tonight was frightening for everyone who witnessed it, and we are extremely grateful to the Philadelphia Eagles medical staff and all of the first responders who acted quickly and took great care of Ja’Quinden in those critical moments.”
Jackson dove at the legs of Patriots running back Lan Larison while trying to make a tackle and took a knee to the head. Jackson was knocked out, and both arms went into the fencing position.
Medical personnel immediately began work on Jackson before he was placed on a backboard and then a stretcher and placed into an ambulance, which took him to a local hospital for evaluation.
Butler did not indicate whether Jackson remains in the hospital and/or whether he will fly home with his teammates.
