Through two preseason games, the Eagles have been bad in 3rd-down situations on both sides of the ball. Nick Sirianni discussed the team’s struggles in this area on Sunday evening.
The Eagles reduced their roster to 81 Monday, one day before the 4 p.m. deadline for NFL teams to reduce rosters to 80.
Wide receiver Hakeem Butler and offensive lineman Harry Crider were both released Monday.
The Eagles also officially announced the release of wide receiver Jhamon Ausbon and Lavert Hill a day after reports that they had been released. The Eagles traveled to North Jersey Monday in advance of joint practices with the Jets on Tuesday and Wednesday in Florham Park and a preseason game on Friday in East Rutherford.
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Since they wouldn’t bring a player with them who they’re going to cut, the final roster move will likely come from placing someone on Injured Reserve. QB-turned-TE Tyree Jackson is a candidate.
Jackson suffered a fracture in his back when he landed hard in the end zone at practice on Tuesday. The Eagles said he’s expected to miss eight to 10 weeks. If Jackson is placed on IR before the final roster cutdown he’ll miss the entire season. If the Eagles keep him on the 53 through final cuts, he could return after three weeks.
But as promising as Jackson is, it would be difficult to squeeze an unproven backup tight end onto the 53 if it’s possible he could be out for the first couple months of the season.
That last move must be made by 4 p.m. Tuesday.
NFL
Butler, originally a 4th-round pick of the Cards in 2019, spent four weeks on the Eagles’ active roster and eight weeks on the practice squad as a tight end.
He has played one offensive snap in his NFL career and it was a bizarre one. With the Eagles trailing the Giants 14-10 early in the fourth quarter at the Linc in October, they faced a crucial 4th-and-goal on the Giants’ 3-yard-line.
Doug Pederson called for last year’s starting quarterback to throw a fade to Butler in the right corner of the end zone. Butler initially lined up on the wrong side of the field and the play never had a chance. The Eagles did wind up winning the game, but Butler never played another snap.
“We put that play in specifically for him and the Giants made a play,” Pederson explained.
In any case, despite being a fairly high draft pick in 2019, Butler never showed much at practice. The Eagles moved him to wide receiver this summer, but he didn’t have success there either. He played 16 offensive snaps and 16 special teams snaps in the two preseason games. He was not targeted.
Crider joined the Eagles this year as an undrafted rookie interior lineman out of Indiana. He played 19 snaps at center in the two preseason games.
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