All 11 of their futures signees were players who finished the 2021 season on the Eagles’ practice squad.
One notable and surprising omission was John Hightower, their 5th-round pick in 2020.
Along with Luke Juriga, Raequan Williams and Casey Tucker, Hightower became an unrestricted free agent when the season ended.
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Futures contracts allow teams to sign players who did not finish the season on a 53-man roster, so it gives players who are unsigned or on a practice squad an opportunity to join a team immediately instead of waiting for the start of free agency in March.
But on Thursday, two weeks after announcing the initial flurry of futures contracts, the Eagles did re-sign Hightower to a futures deal, ending his brief foray into free agency.
Hightower, 25, made a splash early in his rookie season with a 50-yard catch from Carson Wentz against the Ravens in his sixth NFL game and then a 59-yard catch against the Giants a week later. That made him the first Eagles rookie since Mel Bleeker in 1944 with 50-yard receptions in consecutive games.
Through the first seven weeks of the season, Hightower was averaging 36 snaps per game, second-most on the team up to that point, behind Greg Ward. But he struggled to turn his outstanding speed into playmaking, got only 63 snaps the rest of the year and only caught one pass for one yard the last nine weeks of the season, finishing 10-for-167.
NFL
Hightower spent all of this past season on the practice squad and only got into one game as a practice squad elevation, playing two snaps on offense and none on special teams against the Chargers.
The Eagles now have six wide receivers on the roster and signed for 2022: DeVonta Smith, Jalen Reagor, Quez Watkins, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Deion Cane and Hightower. Greg Ward is a restricted free agent.