Eagles sign CB Dexter McDougle, waive injured DT Destiny Vaeao

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With Sidney Jones facing a significant layoff, the Eagles on Tuesday re-signed cornerback Dexter McDougle, who spent the first half of last year with the team.

McDougle, a third-round pick of the Jets in 2014, played in eight games for the Eagles last year, mainly on special teams.

Jones suffered a hamstring injury early in the Giants game Thursday night, and head coach Doug Pederson indicated he could miss significant time. McDougle gives the Eagles experience in the slot along with special teams ability.

McDougle played 55 snaps on defense last year, more than half in the 49ers game in place of injured Patrick Robinson. He also played 135 snaps on special teams. 

He was released on Nov. 13. He spent a week with the Saints later in the season then spent time with both the Jaguars and Lions during the offseason but has been out of football since the Lions released him on Aug. 31.

To make room on the 53-man roster for McDougle, the Eagles waived/injured defensive tackle Destiny Vaeao. He'll land on injured reserve if he clears waivers. Vaeao has played the second-most snaps on the team this year among defensive tackles.

Vaeao hasn’t been listed on the Eagles’ injury report, so apparently, he got hurt either in or since the Giants game. He played 28 snaps and picked up his third career sack in the win Thursday night.

With Tim Jernigan out and Haloti Ngata injured, Vaeao has been a big part of the defensive line rotation. He’s averaged 26 snaps per game so far this year with three starts.

Ngata hasn’t played the last two weeks after getting hurt in the Titans game.

With Jernigan, Ngata and Vaeao out of the picture, the only healthy defensive tackle on the roster other than All-Pro Fletcher Cox is Treyvon Hester, who was promoted from the practice squad two weeks ago and played 11 and 15 snaps the last two games.

The Eagles like Hester, a seventh-round pick of the Raiders last year, and he played well Thursday night. 

But it’s hard to imagine they would go into the Carolina game with only two pure inside defensive linemen, so that indicates that Ngati could be healthy enough to play. Or another move is possible.

The Eagles did add a defensive tackle to the practice squad Tuesday. Winston Craig joins the practice squad and takes the place of linebacker Kyle Wilson, who the Eagles just signed on Oct. 2.

Craig, 23, has had three separate stints on the Eagles’ practice squad. He spent the entire offseason with the Eagles and was on the practice squad the first week of the season.

One other defensive tackle is on the practice squad, Bruce Hector, who spent the first four weeks of the season on the 53 and got 18 snaps on defense.

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