Eagles bringing back familiar face as injuries mount in secondary

Eagles bringing back familiar face as injuries mount in secondary originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

With mounting injuries in the secondary, the Eagles are bringing back a familiar face, signing versatile DB Josiah Scott to their 53-man roster.

The news was released on Tuesday afternoon, by Scott’s agency.

Scott, 24, has spent the 2023 season on the Steelers’ practice squad after getting released by the Eagles at final cuts. He had been on the Steelers’ practice squad Injured Reserve since Sept. 14. Players on practice squads are free to sign with any team’s 53-man roster.

But since the Eagles are poaching Scott from another team’s practice squad, this is a three-week commitment to Scott on the roster. That could signal some uncertainty about an injury or two in the secondary. The Eagles also waived nickel cornerback Mario Goodrich on Tuesday, according to the NFL's transaction wire.

After already losing backup CB Zech McPhearson to an Achilles injury in the preseason and then losing starting nickel Avonte Maddox to a torn pec in Week 2, the Eagles’ injuries in the secondary have continued to pile up.

Starting safety Justin Evans (knee) is already on IR. Fellow starting safety Reed Blankenship suffered a ribs injury against the Jets. Backup safety Sydney Brown has missed the last three weeks with a hamstring injury. Darius Slay missed the Jets game with a knee injury. New starting nickel Bradley Roby left the Jets game  with a shoulder injury. And Eli Ricks left the Jets game with a knee injury.

Bringing in Scott makes some sense because he has experience at both nickel cornerback and safety during his time in Philly. In 2021 and 2022, Scott played in 29 games and started four for the Eagles. All four of those starts — the first four starts of his career — came at nickel corner in place of Maddox last season.

Scott had 26 tackles, 8 pass breakups and 2 interceptions with the Eagles last season. But down the stretch, the Eagles opted to move C.J. Gardner-Johnson to nickel instead of playing Scott. This summer, Scott was no longer the backup nickel; that job belonged to McPhearson before his injury and then went to Goodrich.

The Eagles originally acquired Scott in May of 2021 in exchange for Jameson Houston and a sixth-round pick. The Jaguars drafted Scott out of Michigan State with a fourth-round pick in 2020.

This summer, the Eagles mostly used Scott as a nickel cornerback but toward the end of camp, he began to get more reps as a safety. Via PFF, here’s how Scott’s defensive snaps broke down the last two years with the Eagles:

Slot corner: 376
Wide corner: 49
Free safety: 7 
Box: 45
D-line: 1

Most of Scott’s work as a safety has come during practice.

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