10 Eagles Who Will Be Cut by Tuesday’s Roster Deadline

Aug 3, 2023; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Joseph Ngata (86) catches the ball during practice at Novacare Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 3, 2023; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Joseph Ngata (86) catches the ball during practice at Novacare Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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9. Patrick Johnson

The Eagles are absolutely loaded on the edge, and for my money nobody in the league has a better combination of depth and top-end talent at the position.

That means making some tough cuts here.

Just as far as talent and potential, I do think Patrick Johnson is more than worthy of a roster spot. But this one is more about the tough decisions required to get down to 53 than it is about Johnson personally.

A 2021 seventh-round pick, there’s a reason Johnson has made it in Philly this long. He played a big role on special teams as a rookie and then was one of our top teamers in 2022. That would be the best case to get him on this roster (he has barely seen playing time on the edge and we really don’t need him there), but as I’ve said earlier in this article, I just don’t think that cuts in 2023.

I fully acknowledge that losing Shaun Bradley and Zech McPherson makes it a lot more intriguing to keep a roster spot open for a specialist, but I think that would be an overreaction.

It takes talent to thrive on special teams, for sure. You can’t just slot anyone in there and expect it to go well. But it’s also not like it’s a unique, irreplaceable skillset that does it. The Eagles should have no problem turning enough of our skilled depth defenders into meaningful contributors on special teams, just like they did with the guys that we’re so worried about losing.