The shortened three-game NFL preseason makes every contest that much more important for roster bubble guys. Starters still need to get their usual reps to shake off the rust and prepare for the season, and so backups and players fighting for a job don’t get nearly as much run as they did in the past.
Keeping a 90-man roster right until the final cutdown has also made for much more intense position battles, since competition that may have been cut early in the past is still around and pushing to prove they belong.
These three Eagles players have been fighting all preseason and can finally secure their job against the Colts on Thursday.
Eagles Who Can Secure Their Jobs Against Colts
1. Tyree Jackson
The Eagles have been patient with Tyree Jackson, willing to accept that it’s a gradual process to ask a guy to convert from quarterback to tight end. But at some point, that patience will run out.
The tough part of keeping Jackson around is that it requires the team to carry four tight ends on the roster, because none of Dallas Goedert, Jack Stoll or Grant Calcaterra are getting cut to make room for Jackson.
But Jackson’s athleticism and upside are such that he’s well worth that roster spot as long as he can prove that he’s still making big leaps in his development, and can start suggesting that he’s worth getting on the field.
Jackson had a couple of nice plays in the second preseason game after disappearing in the opener, and a big showing against Indy could secure his roster spot for another year.
2. Britain Covey
Britain Covey’s in a tricky spot because winning a roster spot isn’t even entirely about his own play — it has a lot to do with how the rest of the wide receivers perform, too.
The biggest threat to Covey’s roster spot may well be undrafted free agent Joseph Ngata, and even Tyree Jackson can impact the number of wide receivers Philly is willing to carry on the 53-man roster.
There’s no doubt that Covey is a promising young punt returner, but he needs to prove one of two things if he really wants to secure a job for this season:
Either he needs to prove that he’s such a good punt returner that it’s worth using a full roster spot on the role, or he needs to prove he’s got some value at wide receiver, too.
Britain Covey first one out. #Eagles pic.twitter.com/rpcFLuHThL
— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) August 22, 2023
Covey has been nursing a hamstring injury, but he’s back on the field for joint practices and he should be ready to try to seize his opportunity on Thursday night.
3. K’Von Wallace
Before the preseason started, I predicted K’Von Wallace to get cut, but he’s totally proven me wrong so far and I’m willing to change my tune. He needs one more good showing to really lock up a roster spot, though.
My biggest beef with Wallace was that his development had seemed to slow down and he was plateauing at a level that just was not high enough to justify keeping him around. But so far in the preseason, he has shown flashes of having continued his development on an upward trajectory.
His game against Cleveland wasn’t nearly as stellar as his preseason opener against Baltimore, though, so we need more proof that this wasn’t an early-preseason flash in the pan.
There’s probably only one roster spot truly up for grabs at safety (Terrell Edmunds, Reed Blankenship and Sydney Brown are locks), and while Wallace is the favorite to win the job, it’s certainly not set in stone yet.
Wallace is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and so not only is he playing for a roster spot on Thursday, but he’ll also be playing for a contract extension once he does secure that spot.
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