Eagles go light on offense in initial 53-man roster, keep just 2 tight ends

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The Eagles kept one more player on defense than offense on their initial 53-man roster in 2019 and kept just two tight ends. 

That’s probably the biggest surprise of cut-down day. They also kept two undrafted free agents and cut a veteran who started in Super Bowl LII. 

As always, the initial 53-man roster is fluid. The Eagles will be scouring the waiver wire and Howie Roseman is never shy about trades and roster turnover. 

For now, though, here’s the Eagles’ initial 53-man roster for 2019: 

QB (3): Carson Wentz, Josh McCown, Nate Sudfeld

No real surprise here. The Eagles waived rookie Clayton Thorson, who struggled this preseason. They enter the season with two healthy QBs, but Sudfeld is expected to return at some point, probably in October. 

RB (4): Jordan Howard, Miles Sanders, Corey Clement, Darren Sproles

The Eagles could have gone with five running backs but instead, they stick with four, getting rid of Wendell Smallwood, Boston Scott, Josh Adams and Donnel Pumphrey. Smallwood was the fourth running back in last year. From last year’s 53-man roster, the Eagles swapped Jay Ajayi and Smallwood for Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders. 

WR (5): Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, Nelson Agholor, JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Mack Hollins

Tough cut for Greg Ward, who did everything he could to earn a roster spot. In the end, the Eagles valued Hollins’ upside and ability on special teams. 

TE (2): Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert

This is a surprise. After putting Richard Rodgers on IR and waiving Josh Perkins, the Eagles should be looking to add another tight end. Perkins wasn’t just on the team last year, he played a decent role at times. 

OL (10): Jason Peters, Isaac Seumalo, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks, Lane Johnson, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Andre Dillard, Jordan Mailata, Matt Pryor, Nate Herbig

The big cut here was veteran Stefen Wisniewski, who had a tough summer, especially as a center. The surprise who made the team was Herbig, who actually took over for Wiz as backup center. Despite a back injury, Mailata is on the roster for the second straight season. 

DE (6): Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, Vinny Curry, Daeshon Hall, Josh Sweat, Shareef Miller 

Keeping six defensive ends is probably too many, but it was probably hard to cut one of those last three guys. In the end, they just kept all of them. Hall had a great preseason and Sweat and Miller were both fourth-round picks in consecutive years. 

DT (4): Fletcher Cox, Malik Jackson, Tim Jernigan, Hassan Ridgeway

The only notable cut here was Treyvon Hester, who became a hero last postseason after getting a finger on the double-doink. But the Eagles traded for Ridgeway in April. This is light at defensive tackle, but it’s a pretty good group, especially at a position where Destiny Vaeao started last year. Going light at DT allowed the Eagles to go a little heavier at DE. Also, Graham and Curry can play inside. 

LB (6): Nigel Bradham, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Zach Brown, Nate Gerry, L.J. Fort, T.J. Edwards 

It was a good day for rookie T.J. Edwards, who is one of two UDFAs on the initial 53-man roster. With Bradham and KGH not at 100 percent, the Eagles went heavy here. 

CB (5): Ronald Darby, Sidney Jones, Avonte Maddox, Rasul Douglas, Cre’Von LeBlanc

The only slight surprise here was that the Eagles cut Orlando Scandrick, but he could possibly return if they need him. Jalen Mills was also put on the Reserve/PUP, which means he’ll be out at least six weeks. This means the Eagles are light at corner going into Week 1. But that’s a good sign about Darby’s health. 

S (5): Malcolm Jenkins, Rodney McLeod, Andrew Sendejo, Johnathan Cyprien, Rudy Ford

The Eagles traded for Ford, but then he got hurt and didn’t play in the fourth preseason game, but he’s still on the roster. He has played 455 special teams snaps in the last two years. 

ST (3): Jake Elliott, Cameron Johnston, Rick Lovato 

This was never going to change.

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