Takeaways From Philadelphia Eagles Cutdown Day

For the Philadelphia Eagles, the goals following last season’s playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were clear. Provide continuity and more weapons for Jalen Hurts as the quarterback developed. And make sure the defense was ready to support this improving offense properly.

A final flourish — a trade for Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, who may well move from corner in New Orleans to safety in Philly — led to a roster with more answers than any in recent years for the Eagles heading into the team’s September opener against the Detroit Lions on September 11.

“Not that we were unhappy with our defensive backfield or our safety position, but we were looking for opportunities to get better,” Roseman said of the deal. “When we looked at New Orleans and the depth that they had on their roster, we thought maybe it would be a fit, and the conversations kind of came together here in the last 48 hours. Excited to add him.”

Notably, the youth infusion this offseason has extended beyond Philadelphia’s NFL draft picks alone. Three players — guard Josh Sills, safety Reed Blankenship and corner Josh Jobe all went from undrafted to making the final roster.

“Josh [Jobe] was a guy that had some injury issues in the off-season part of this, and we had followed him. We knew him, obviously the Alabama connection, and from day one when he came in here, he came in with the right mindset. This is a big, long, instinctive corner, a physical corner who’s played at a high level in the SEC.

“I was saying the other day I’m watching guys even in this year’s draft and I see Josh in man coverage with these guys. He’s a guy that we felt very fortunate to get after the draft, and our Alabama guys, Stout [run game coordinator/offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland], [assistant special teams coordinator Joe] Pannunzio, those guys, just wrapping their arms around him, and our performance guys doing a great job getting him ready to play.

“With [S] Reed [Blankenship], Reed is an interesting guy. Reed is a five-year starter [at Middle Tennessee]. You don’t see many of those guys going…

“…When you talk about Sills, he’s 6’5″, he’s 330 pounds, he has long arms. He’s powerful, he’s versatile. He can play inside or outside. I’m not putting him in Canton — I’m starting to listen to my own description, and it sounds unbelievable. But the guy has talent in his body.”

Ultimately, the group of receivers Roseman and the Eagles settled on are almost entirely new. This was not an accident.

“I think obviously a lot of resources used at that position. I feel like it was necessary to make sure that we gave [QB] Jalen [Hurts] an opportunity to play with guys around him,” Roseman said. “I’ve felt really good about where our offensive line has been really over my whole tenure here, except for injuries in some years, and just as the opportunities arose really, it just made sense to add those guys, whether you’re talking about [WR] DeVonta [Smith] or [WR] Quez [Watkins] and how he stepped up and obviously [WR] AJ [Brown] and then [WR] Zach [Pascal] here in the off-season.

“We’re just looking for opportunities to improve the team. That’s all we’re trying to do, and it just so happened to work out that the best guys and the opportunities that we had happened to be at that position.”

Roseman laughed when asked to put expectations on the season ahead — “Do you think I’m answering that question in any way, shape or form? How long have you known me?”, he said — but the external expectations are going to reflect a successful offseason. That’s true anywhere, but perhaps nowhere more than in Philadelphia, when it comes to their Eagles.