A few hours before they host the Falcons in the home opener on Monday Night Football, the Eagles have made a flurry of roster moves:
• Signed OL Nick Gates to the 53-man roster
• Waived LB Patrick Johnson
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
• Elevated WR Parris Campbell and TE E.J. Jenkins
With A.J. Brown (hamstring) out for this game and with Johnny Wilson (hamstring) also listed as questionable, the Eagles needed to perform some roster gymnastics on Monday afternoon. They couldn’t go into this game with just three healthy receivers on the 53-man roster: DeVonta Smith, Jahan Dotson and Britain Covey.
So the Eagles needed to find a way to elevate Parris Campbell but they also needed to have a third tight end and a backup center up for game day. Both Gates and Jenkins were the elevations in Week 1 and would have likely been the elevations again in Week 2 had there not been injuries to the receivers.
With those injuries at wideout, the veteran Campbell is up for this game. Before the Aug. 22 trade for Dotson, Campbell was seemingly the leader in the clubhouse to be the Eagles’ No. 3 receiver. Even though Campbell missed time in training camp with a groin injury, he has plenty of experience and made a few plays in camp.
Philadelphia Eagles
Gates, 28, joined the Eagles during training camp. While he didn’t make the 53-man roster, he has been serving as the backup center. He was up last week for that reason and now he’s on the active roster.
Johnson, 26, has been on the team since the Eagles drafted him in the seventh round back in 2021. He has played in 49 games over the last four years and has played more special teams snaps than anyone in recent years. It seems likely that Johnson will return on the practice squad as long as he clears waivers.
Jenkins will be the third tight end for the second straight week behind Dallas Goedert and Grant Calcaterra.
Subscribe to Eagle Eye anywhere you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | YouTube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube