Breaking down the 21 players Eagles signed to futures deals

Breaking down the 21 players Eagles signed to futures deals originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

We’re still over a month away from the beginning of free agency but the Eagles have signed 21 players to reserve/futures contracts since the end of their season.

Basically, these are signings of players who were not on 53-man rosters at the conclusion of the regular season. These contracts go into effect on the first day of the new league year when rosters will be allowed up to 90 players.

Of the 21 players, 14 finished the Eagles’ season on their practice squad. The two practice squad players from the end of the season who remained unsigned are DB Josiah Scott and WR Greg Ward Jr.

Here’s a look at all 21 players:

The 14 from the Eagles’ practice squad:

DT Thomas Booker: The 6-foot-3, 301-pound defensive tackle spent the entire season on the Eagles’ practice squad after getting signed on Aug. 31. Booker spent the 2023 training camp with the Houston Texans, who took him in the fifth round out of Stanford in the 2022 draft. As a rookie, Booker played in 10 games (1 start) with the Texans. He had 15 tackles, half a sack and 5 QB pressures in 206 total defensive snaps. He did not see any game action in his first year with the Eagles.

T Le'Raven Clark: Clark is a 30-year-old experienced veteran who has played in 64 career NFL games with 18 starts. And in 2021, he played in 4 games and started the final game of the regular season at right tackle against the Cowboys. After the 2021 season, Clark was back on the Eagles’ practice squad when the Titans signed him to their active roster in late September. He ended up playing in 13 games and starting 2 with the Titans in 2022. After that season, Clark signed with the Steelers but was released at final cuts and spent the entire 2023 season on the Eagles’ practice squad without seeing any action. Clark (6-5, 311) is a former third-round pick out of Texas Tech.

DT Noah Elliss: The Eagles signed the 346-pound nose tackle (and brother of linebacker Christian Elliss) as an undrafted free agent out of Idaho in 2022 but he landed on the Non-football Injury list and missed his rookie season. He was back at training camp in 2023 but was waived/injured and landed on IR. In October, Elliss rejoined the Eagles’ practice squad and finished the season there. He has yet to see any regular season game action in the NFL.

DB Mekhi Garner: The Eagles signed Garner (6-2, 212) after he went undrafted out of LSU in 2023. He was elevated for three games this regular season and for the playoff game in Tampa. And even though he’s a corner saw some action at safety when the Eagles were dealing with injuries earlier in the season. In those three regular season games, Garner played 27 defensive snaps and 45 on special teams. In the playoff game he played 18 special teams snaps and had a special teams tackle.

DB Mario Goodrich: The UDFA from 2022 made the Eagles’ initial 53-man roster as their backup nickel cornerback and got his chance to play when Avonte Maddox went down in Week 2. He was out there for 39 snaps after the injury. But then the Eagles really kept searching for other options and they released him in October. After clearing waivers, Goodrich re-joined the practice squad. The 2022 UDFA out of Clemson played in four games and started one in 2023.

WR Griffin Hebert: The Eagles signed Herbert (pronounced AY-bear) to their practice squad on Dec. 28 and listed him as a receiver, which was notable because he had previously been listed as a tight end with the Seahawks and at Louisiana Tech. Herbert (6-1, 231) went undrafted out of LA Tech and was with the Seahawks in training camp this past summer.

DE Tarron Jackson: An Eagles 2021 sixth-round pick out of Coastal Carolina, Jackson (6-2, 254) has been with the Eagles in each of the past three seasons but spent the entire 2023 season on the practice squad. He played in 17 games as a rookie and just 4 in his second NFL season in 2022. As a rookie, Jackson had 17 tackles, 2 TFLs and a sack but has played just 27 total defensive snaps since.

DB Tristin McCollum: After going undrafted out of Sam Houston State in 2022, McCollum spent his rookie season on the Texans’ practice squad but signed with the Eagles on a futures deal in January of 2023. He was on the practice squad this whole season but was elevated for three regular season games and the playoff game in Tampa. In his three regular season games, McCollum played 29 defensive snaps and had 6 tackles. He is the twin brother of Buccaneers cornerback Zyon McCollum.

WR Joseph Ngata: The UDFA from Clemson spent his entire rookie season on the Eagles’ practice squad after a pretty good training camp in 2023. At 6-foot-3, 217 pounds, Ngata is a big-bodied receiver who got to soak up knowledge from A.J. Brown and Julio Jones as a rookie in the NFL.

RB Lew Nichols: The Packers drafted Nichols out of Central Michigan in the seventh round (No. 235) this year but he was waived by Green Bay on Sept. 7 and signed to the Eagles’ practice squad on Oct. 16, remaining there the rest of the year. He finished his career as Central Michigan’s 6th all-time leading rusher and had an incredible 2021 with 1,848 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns.

LB Brandon Smith: The Penn State product was drafted in the fourth round by the Panthers last year and played in 12 games (1 start) as a rookie. He played just 53 snaps on defense last year in Carolina but played 193 on special teams before landing on IR last December. He was waived by the Panthers at final cuts and signed to the Eagles’ practice squad in October. He was elevated for the first Giants game and the Cardinals game this season and played on special teams.

OL Lecitus Smith: Another draft pick, Smith was taken in the sixth round out of Virginia Tech by the Cardinals in 2022. As a rookie, he played in 10 games with 2 starts at right guard. In 2023, Smith spent a week with the Texans’ practice squad and didn’t get to Philly until Nov. 14, finishing up the year on the practice squad. At Virginia Tech, Smith played in 45 games and started 38.

TE Noah Togiai: The 26-year-old Togiai has had several different stints with the Eagles dating back to 2020 when the Birds signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Oregon State. Togiai (pronounced tong-EE-eye) came back to the Eagles on Nov. 14 to the practice squad. In his NFL career, Togiai has played in 8 total games — 4 with the Colts and 4 with the Eagles.

T Brett Toth: The Eagles originally signed Toth, a first lieutenant in the Army who received a waiver to defer service, back in 2019. When they waived him at final cuts that year, the Cardinals claimed him that first season and Toth has bounced around a bit since then with several stints in Philly. Overall, Toth has played in 20 career games with 2 starts and has played tackle, guard and even center with the Eagles in practice. Last summer, Toth struggled to snap the ball learning the center position.

The newcomers:

WR Shaquan Davis: Davis (6-5, 217) is another bigger receiver added to the Eagles’ 90-man roster. Davis signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent out of South Carolina State last year and spent most of his rookie season on the New Orleans practice squad before getting waived on Jan. 15. A few days later, the Eagles added Davis on a futures deal. At South Carolina State from 2019-22, Davis had 116 catches for 2,452 yards and 25 touchdowns. He was the 2021 Celebration Bowl Offensive MVP after he had 5 catches for 95 yards and 3 touchdowns against Deion Sanders’ Jackson State team.

WR Jacob Harris: Harris (6-5, 211) was drafted by the Rams in the fourth round back in 2019. The 26-year-old has played in 18 career games in the NFL but has seen just 30 career offensive snaps and has just 1 catch for 6 yards. He was with the Rams through 2022 but joined the Jaguars on a one-year deal for 2023 but played in just two games. At Central Florida, Harris averaged 20.1 yards per catch and 9 of his 49 receptions were touchdowns. He had the type of size/speed combo that made him an early Day 3 pick a few years ago.

DB Tiawan Mullen: Mullen went undrafted out of Indiana this season and after spending his rookie training camp with the Chargers joined the Eagles’ practice squad in September for a few different stints before getting cut in October. He hadn’t been with the team since Oct. 24 before signing this futures deal. Mullen (5-8, 181) is the brother of Ravens cornerback Trayvon Mullen and the cousin of likely league MVP Lamar Jackson.

TE E.J. Jenkins: After starting his NFL career with the Jets as an undrafted rookie, Jenkins was released at final cuts and joined the Eagles’ practice squad for a couple weeks in November before he was released. He then had a brief stint with the Raiders but has yet to play in an NFL game. Jenkins (6-6, 245) began his college career at FCS Saint Francis before going to South Carolina and then Georgia Tech. As a senior at GT, he had 17 catches for 316 yards and 3 touchdowns.

LB Terrell Lewis: Of all the newcomers, Lewis is probably the most intriguing. The Alabama product was a third-round pick (No. 84) back in the 2020 draft, taken by the Rams. From 2020-22, Lewis played in 30 games (7 starts) and had 40 tackles, 6 sacks, 10 QB hits and 32 QB pressures. He was waived by the Rams in December of 2022 and spent time with the Bears and Saints since then. At Alabama (2016-19), Lewis had 8 sacks, 14 TFLs and 58 tackles in 26 games.

Here’s what NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said about Lewis back in 2020, via SI.com:

"You see the flashes. I mean, he's got some freaky change-of-direction ability. There's some Danielle Hunter to him when you watch him. I see some similarities there. The upside is great. But he disappears at times, and unfortunately he hasn't been able to stay healthy, and he's just got to continue to grow and develop and become more polished as a player."

G Jason Poe: The 49ers signed Poe (6-1, 300) as an undrafted rookie out of Mercer in 2022. Poe before that was at Lenoir-Rhyne and started his career at Hutchinson Community College as a fullback. Poe is 25 now but he showed really good athleticism during the pre-draft process in 2022 and is definitely still a project player. He has spent time on the practice squad in San Francisco and with the New York Jets.

WR Austin Watkins: If you’re noticing a theme here, Watkins is another big receiver. The 6-3, 210-pounder was signed by the 49ers as a UDFA back in 2021. At UAB from 2018-20, he had 98 catches for 1,642 yards (16.7) and 9 touchdowns. He’s the cousin of Sammy Watkins. He has been with the 49ers, Bucs and Browns before.

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