The Philadelphia Eagles topped the Cincinnati Bengals, 34-27, in their preseason opener on Thursday night as the defending champions officially turn the page from their Super Bowl run to the 2025 campaign.
While this is the time of year when starters are fine-tuning their conditioning and getting mentally prepared for the long, arduous 17-game regular season schedule, players further down the depth chart don't have that luxury as they are fighting for their football lives each time they step on the field during the preseason.
Veteran wide receiver Terrace Marshall falls into that second category of players fighting to make Philadelphia's final roster coming out of training camp. The former second-round pick out of LSU seemed to already be squarely on the roster bubble entering Thursday night's preseason tilt against the Bengals. His lack of availability in the win may have made the hill Marshall must climb to be an Eagle that much steeper.
Eagles WR Terrace Marshall is not playing tonight. He returned to practice on Tuesday in a limited capacity after missing four practices with a knee injury.
— Brooks Kubena (@BKubena) August 7, 2025
Eagles' Terrace Marshall Headed Toward Exits After 1st Preseason Game
The best ability is availability. There is no workplace where that adage rings more true than the NFL, and Terrace Marshall is learning that lesson as we speak. After enjoying a strong start to training camp, Marshall went down with a knee injury on July 29 and hasn't returned to the field since.
With other players taking advantage of his absence, namely Johnny Wilson and Ainias Smith, who combined for five receptions on nine targets for 84 yards and a touchdown, Marshall's opportunity to impress Nick Sirianni and the coaching staff enough to lock down one of the few available roster spots behind A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Jahan Dotson is running thin.
There are no guarantees that the Eagles will carry six wide receivers on their 53-man roster. Even if they chose to do so, Marshall would have competition for that spot as UDFA Darius Cooper looks to be doing all he can to impress after leading the team with six catches for 82 yards and a touchdown in Philadelphia's preseason opener.
There is still plenty of time for Marshall to turn his fortunes around and solidify his spot on the roster. However, those opportunities lessen with every day he remains sidelined with this knee issue. Given there isn't much on his resume as a player to give Marshall the benefit of the doubt, he has only crossed the 20-catch plateau once during his four-year career, the 25-year-old needs to prove his worth this preseason.
If Marshall is unable to do that, he had better start looking for a new home in the NFL sooner rather than later.