Eagles Cut Veteran Defender Immediately After Preseason Opener

The Philadelphia Eagles are already making changes to their 90-man roster after playing their first preseason game on Friday night.

According to Zach Berman of PHLY, the Eagles have signed safety Caden Sterns and released linebacker Shaquille Quarterman. Quarterman was signed by the team last week reportedly to a one-year deal.

Eagles fans were intrigued by the idea of Quarterman joining the linebacker room as the team didn’t make a ton of huge splashes in the offseason to address the position. Last year, Philly’s LB depth was tested down the stretch and it’s a spot they don’t want to be in this season.

The 26-year-old linebacker has predominantly been a special teams contributor for most of his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

However, the former third-round pick only played two special teams snaps in Philly’s preseason opener against the Baltimore Ravens. That likely didn’t help Quarterman’s cause to stick on the 90-man roster, making him expendable for a defender like Sterns, who has talent but has been banged up.

With Quarterman out of the picture, it will be interesting to see if Philadelphia makes another move at the linebacker spot over the next few weeks. The Eagles hope that isn't the case as they await Oren Burks (knee) and Brandon Smith's (concussion) return from injury. 

Smith and Burks didn’t play in Friday night’s game against the Ravens. However, they can provide depth at the WLB and MLB spots and be special teams' contributors when they are healthy.

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