Eagles open practice window for Justin Evans, shuffle practice squad
Eagles open practice window for Justin Evans, shuffle practice squad originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Eagles have opened the practice window for veteran safety Justin Evans, a starter in four of the first five games this year.
Evans, a 2nd-round pick of the Buccaneers in 2017, signed with the Eagles in March and was a surprising winner of the training camp battle for the second safety spot opposite Reed Blankenship.
He started the first three games but suffered a neck injury against the Bucs in Tampa in Week 3 and missed the Week 4 game against Washington. He returned for the Rams in Week 5 but suffered a knee injury and was placed on Injured Reserve on Oct. 13.
He’s now missed four games, which makes him eligible to be activated. By opening his practice window, the Eagles are able to keep him on IR but get him on the practice field when they return to work on Thursday. They have 21 days to either activate him or shut him down for the year (or release him).
Evans had 15 tackles, two pass deflections, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in 197 defensive snaps over the four games he’s played this year.
Injuries have been a staple of Evans’ career. He’s played in only 43 games since getting drafted in 2017 and didn’t play at all from 2019 through 2021.
While Evans was on IR, the Eagles traded with the Titans for two-time All-Pro Kevin Byard, who has started the last two games with mixed results.
Terrell Edmunds started three games at safety while Evans was out, but he went to the Titans as part of the Byard trade. Rookie Sydney Brown and Edmunds started against Miami when Blankenship and Evans were both hurt.
Where would Evans fit in if the Eagles re-signed him? Defensive coordinator Sean Desai does like to rotate at positions that aren’t normally rotated, so it’s possible he could find a role for Evans while Blankenship and Byard are both healthy. But at worst it gives the Eagles added depth at a thin position where Sydney Brown has been the only healthy backup on the 53-man roster.
If the Eagles do activate Evans, they’d have to make a corresponding move to make room on the 53-man roster. Slot corner Josiah Scott could be a possibility. The Eagles signed him off the Steelers’ practice squad on Oct. 18, so he’s been on the 53 the minimum of three weeks that teams must keep players signed off other teams’ practice squads.
The Eagles on Tuesday also signed tight end Noah Togiai and offensive lineman Lecitus Smith to the practice squad.
This is Togiai’s third stint with the Eagles. He was here during training camp in 2020 and then after playing for the Colts in 2020 he returned to the Eagles and was on and off the practice squad over much of the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He played in three games and got 36 offensive snaps and 27 special teams snaps.
Togiai was with the Cards in training camp and on the Raiders’ practice squad before getting released three weeks ago. He hasn’t played in a regular-season game since Week 2 last year when the Eagles beat the Vikings.
Togiai doesn’t have a catch in seven games over parts of three seasons.
The 6-foot-3, 315-pound Smith, a 6th-round pick of the Cards last year out of Virginia Tech, played in 10 games with two midseason starts at right guard for Arizona last year and got 209 reps on offense.
The Eagles also released practice squad tight end E.J. Jenkins, who they had signed on Nov. 1.
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