4 Eagles on the Bubble Who Have Clinched Their 53-Man Roster Spots

While fans are itching to move on to getting to focus on the starters and game results that matter, there’s no denying that the biggest storylines in the preseason are way down the depth chart.

Cutting straight from a 90 to a 53-man roster limit all at once means roster bubble players have all received the entirety of training camp and the preseason to prove themselves, and all of that comes to a head on Tuesday. Nobody’s job is guaranteed, and anyone on the bubble is going to be on pins and needles waiting for the news.

These four Eagles shouldn’t worry, though, as they’ve already clinched their roster spots.

Eagles Roster Bubble Players Who Have Clinched a Spot

1. Eli Ricks

Eli Ricks has been an absolute star in the preseason. It’s obviously not the same as doing it in regular season action, but he’s been a total shutdown corner.

And when tasked with facing the ones? Well, he’s looked pretty damn good there too.

Cornerback is an incredibly competitive position on this roster, and there are probably 10 players worth considering for the seven or eight roster spots that are going to be available.

As an undrafted free agent, Ricks was originally a big underdog to lock up one of those spots. But Ricks has totally forced the Eagles’ hand here.

2. K’Von Wallace

I’m on record as being low on K’Von Wallace heading into training camp. In fact, I had projected him to be cut.

But I’m fully admitting that I was wrong.

Over the last couple of seasons, it had felt like Wallace’s development had stalled or plateaued after he turned in a surprisingly strong rookie season in 2020. And I wasn’t about to project a roster spot at our crowded safety position to a guy on the last year of his contract who didn’t offer much upside.

But Wallace had other plans.

Wallace has absolutely shown strong development this summer, making it clear that what we saw in 2020 wasn’t close to his ceiling.

Pro Football Focus gave him a higher grade in the 2023 preseason than he received in any previous preseason or regular season, and he graded out well both in coverage and against the run.

Suddenly we’re not only looking at Wallace making the roster, but we’re looking at him threatening to take Terrell Edmunds’ starting job and likely earning himself a contract extension whether he does or not.

3. Fred Johnson

Offensive line depth is key on any team, even one with as much continuity up front as the Eagles.

Something that makes ours uniquely hard to project, though, is how much versatility we have. Most of the guys in this unit can play at least two spots on the line, and many are capable of playing three or four.

So while some rosters let you make pretty clear designations as to who backs up whom, we don’t get that clarity in Philly.

That also means that beyond Tyler Steen, Jack Driscoll and maybe Sua Opeta, the depth spots on the line have been wildly up for grabs this summer.

Fred Johnson came into Philly carrying exactly that kind of versatility, having played left tackle, right tackle and right guard at the NFL level (not to mention tight end in 6-linemen sets).

He’s exclusively played tackle for the Eagles in the preseason (and mostly on the left side), but you just know Nick Sirianni will keep that versatility in mind.

And of course, it’s not just the versatility he offers. Johnson was also terrific in the preseason, earning an overall grade of 74.0 from PFF. That ranks second among all Eagles o-linemen who played in the preseason, and that should be enough to land him on this roster.

4. Devon Allen

Speaking of preseason standouts, let’s watch one of the biggest highlights from Thursday’s game again, shall we?

This play probably single-handedly sealed Britain Covey’s fate as a cut, and probably finalized earning Devon Allen a roster spot, too.

A two-time Olympian in the 110-meter hurdles, there’s absolutely no questioning Allen’s speed and explosiveness. The real question is whether he can put it all together on the football field, which he really hasn’t done since his freshman year at Oregon back in 2014.

But the Eagles have a hole in the return game right now, and the ability to return both punts and kicks alone is probably enough to earn Allen a roster spot.

It’s unlikely he gets any serious run at wide receiver (he didn’t look great there in the preseason), but considering we may only carry four wideouts ahead of him (Brown, Smith, Watkins and Zaccheaus), there’s a chance he could actually see the field a little bit on offense, too.

Even if he’s not in the plans at wide receiver, Allen’s upside to be one of the NFL’s most explosive returners should clinch his spot.

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