Philadelphia Eagles: Wait, Deon Cain did what now?

Deon Cain is going deep down the center of the field and… and… caught! Jalen Hurts connects with Deon Cain for a big gain over the head of Darius Slay! First down, Philadelphia Eagles!

Sidebar: Did you read that in Merrill Reese’s voice? If so, I did my job.

On Friday, the Eagles took the field for OTAs, and the hype around the Delaware Valley was palpable. A.J. Brown was set to take the field in a shiny new 11 jersey, James Bradberry would finally line up opposite Darius Slay and… Cain would make one of the plays of the day as he starts a dark horse campaign for a roster spot that fans totally won’t get irrationally attached to and then get irrationally mad over when he’s released a few months down the line.

But who is Deon Cain, how did he end up with the Philadelphia Eagles, and does he actually bring anything to the table this summer? Well, read on, friends; let’s try to find out.

Deon Cain is a fast favorite of the Philadelphia Eagles head coach.

On paper, there was a lot to like about Deon Cain heading into the 2018 NFL Draft.

He played his college ball at Clemson, where he was a top target for then-quarterback Kelly Bryant, had good size at 6-foot-2, 202 pounds, and ran a solid 4.42 40 time at the combine. Sure, he never put up 1,000 yards with the Tigers, and his measurables were sort of weird if we’re being honest, but few expected Cain to go undrafted, as his overall oeuvre would surely entice some team.

As it turns out, Cain did get drafted, by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round, to be specific.

Hmm… who was the Colts’ offensive coordinator at the time? Nick Sirianni? Interesting.

Now granted, Cain didn’t exactly make a splash with the Colts as a rookie, as he tore his ACL during the team’s first preseason game and ended up on season-ending IR. Though he did rebound somewhat in 2019, where he appeared in seven games with three starts, the Colts ultimately waived him in November, and after landing on the practice squad, he was stolen away by the Pittsburgh Steelers for the final six games of the season.

From there, Cain spent all but two games on the Steelers’ practice squad in 2020 and signed with the Baltimore Ravens in 2021, where he was ultimately released heading into the regular season to make way for a spot on the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad.

… and now he’s catching passes from Jalen Hurts as a darkhorse candidate to make the Eagles roster. Goodness, life comes at you fast, and opportunities can be fickle.

Will Deon Cain make the Philadelphia Eagles’ initial 53-man roster? No, probably not; not unless the team moves off of one of their top-5 wide receivers, that is. But he does have a chance to make the roster, and if he continues to play well over the summer and into the preseason, his momentum – and legend – will only continue to grow.