Philadelphia Eagles: Mac McCain isn’t just another body at cornerback
After placing Jack Driscoll, Josiah Scott, and Tyree Jackson on regular season IR – which means they can all return at some point if need be – the Philadelphia Eagles were always going to sign up a few more players to get their roster to 53.
Some of those moves were fairly obvious. When news broke that Hassan Ridgeway wasn’t on the team’s initial 53 man roster, it always felt like he’d be back eventually, as he wasn’t subject to waivers. Similarly, when Howie Roseman claimed Andre Chachere off of waivers, his spot on the 53 man was all but guaranteed, but once Driscoll was added to the reserve list, many hypothesized about who would take his spot.
Would it be Richard Rodgers, who still hasn’t sign to any roster active or practice squad? Or how about a player like Jordan Howard was a similarly surprising release to Ridgeway?
Well, as it turns out, the Eagles really wanted to fill the spot with ex- Wahington seventh-round CB Jimmy Moreland, who picked off a pass from Carson Wentz in 2020, but that dream was dashed early on when he was claimed off of waivers by the Houston Texans.
Bummer? Maybe a little, but it’s cool. The player the Philadelphia Eagles ultimately signed, Mac McCain, isn’t a slouch either, and may just have a chance to stick over similarly talented practice squad options around the league.
Mac McCain may just stick around with the Philadelphia Eagles.
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Mac McCain is a prototypical small-school player.
He was lightly recruited coming out of high school, played for a college that doesn’t even have a College-Football-Reference page, and ultimately performed his post-college testing at the HBCU combine, as he was among the only North Carolina A&T prospects up for NFL consideration.
Still, on the field, his play was good, and his numbers backed that up. He racked up 113 tackles, eight interceptions, and even recorded two defensive touchdowns in only 20 games of action.
Had McCain put up those numbers at, say, Alabama, while recording decent combine numbers highlighted by a 4.45 40 yard dash time, he surely would have been drafted no later than Day 2, but apparently, scouts went light on North Carolina A&T games this year, and he ultimately went unselected in the 2021 NFL Draft.
But hey; it’s cool. McCain ultimately signed with the Denver Broncos, had a quality camp, and was signed to their practice squad after initially clearing waivers… at least, until the Philadelphia Eagles swooped in and signed him to their active roster.
Will McCain be active for the Birds in Week 1? Maybe. Between Zech McPhearson and Andre Chachere, the Eagles may feel they have enough depth to weather any disaster scenarios, but after he has a few weeks to get Jonathan Gannon’s system under his belt, McCain could work his way into the Eagles plans as both a special teamer and a backup outside option behind Darius Slay and Steven Nelson.
At this point in the season, what more could you ask for?
Next. Jalen Hurts has been acting like a captain all summer. dark
Would it have been nice to sign Jimmy Moreland? Sure. He played well at James Madison and does have that interception off the Philadelphia Eagles that will live on his highlight reel forever. But signing Mac McCain isn’t a massive downgrade either. If anything, his experience as an outside corner may serve the team well moving forward.