10 players on the roster bubble ahead of Eagles’ preseason opener vs. Ravens
The Eagles will have a full 90-man roster ready for Saturday night’s preseason opener against the Baltimore Ravens.
Philadelphia is loaded at just about every position.
As the roster quickly goes from 90 players down to 53, we’ve identified several guys on the hot seat who will need to approach the matchup against the Ravens with severe urgency.
With the roster now intact, here are 10 players on the roster bubble to watch in the opener.
QB Ian Book
The former Notre Dame signal-caller spent all of 2022 as the No. 3 quarterback, but he’s faced stiff compeition from Tanner McKee during the first two weeks of camp.
RB Trey Sermon
The NFL is a numbers game and depending on who you ask, Sermon is low on the list of a running back group that also includes Rashaad Penny, D’Andre Swift, Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott.
CB Mario Goodrich
The former Clemson cornerback saw snaps in the slot during the first two weeks of training camp.
Saturday night offers a big opportunity for Goodrich to move up the depth chart with efficient play at cornerback.
WR--Greg Ward
Philadelphia has ten wide receivers and a dynamic duo of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.
Ward is listed behind A.J. Brown on the depth chart and a strong showing could keep the former Houston Cougars wide receiver around for the regular season.
TE -- Tyree Jackson
The addition of Dan Arnold will certainly make things difficult for Jackson and through the first two weeks of practice, he’s put his athletic ability, and soft hands on display.
OT -- Roderick Johnson
Johnson competes in the Eagles’ deepest position group, and it would take a dominant training camp performance to land a roster spot.
IOL-- Tyrese Robinson
With Cam Jurgens able to play multiple spots and Tyler Steen transitioning to guard from the offensive tackle position, Robinson will have to outperform Brett Toth and Sua Opeta for a roster spot.
DT--Noah Elliss
Elliss spent the 2022 season on the reserve injured list, and he’ll compete against Marlon Tuipulotu and rookie Moro Ojomo for one of the final roster spots.
DE/Edge--Tarron Jackson
Philadelphia has a solid group of players on special teams and added Nolan Smith in the draft, along with Kentavius Street in free agency.
Derek Barnett is returning, and the Eagles will be stacked at the edge rusher, defensive end positions.
Jackson is the most undersized edge rusher on the team, and he’ll be the odd man out.
DE -- Janarius Robinson
A former teammate of Josh Sweat at FSU, Robinson has the intangibles as a pass rusher, but will compete at one of the deepest spots on the roster.
CB--Josiah Scott
The initial thought was Greedy Williams, but it’ll likely be Scott, who struggled at times in 2022 when Avonte Maddox was out due to injury.
Rookie safety Sydney Brown can play in the slot, Zech McPhearson spent OTAs in the slot and DC Sean Desai could decide to play even less man-to-man in 2023.
Scott could be released if Eli Ricks, Mehki Garner, Josh Jobe, or Tristin McCollum show any potential to play the slot position.
S -- Justin Evans
Evans had a bounce-back season in 2022 after spending three years dealing with injury issues.
Signed away from New Orleans in free agency, Evans has a harder hill to climb with K’Von Wallace’s early camp performance.
