Eagles cut and paste roster to 52

FROM THE MORNING CALL

In the end, according to Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, Saturday's series of trades and roster cuts were all about getting the best 53-man roster together for opening week. But it's hard to imagine the Eagles not also thinking two and three years ahead with the moves they made at the deadline.

Twelve rookies survived the final cuts, not including Ricky Sapp, who is on the injured reserve list.

Gone, at least temporarily, are wide receivers Kelley Washington, Chad Hall and Jordan Norwood, tight end Cornelius Ingram, centers A.Q. Shipley and Dallas Reynolds, guards Max Jean-Gilles and Stacy Andrews, offensive lineman Fenuki Tupou, defensive end Eric Moncur, defensive tackle Jeff Owens, linebacker Tracy White and safeties Macho Harris and Quintin Demps.


Some of the players who were released, particularly Hall, Ingram and Shipley, are considered prime candidates to be brought back for the eight-man practice squad, which teams are allowed to begin assembling today.

White was dealt to New England for a conditional draft pick in 2012. Andrews was traded just after the 6 p.m. roster cutdown deadline to Seattle for a late-round draft pick next season. Because they couldn't get it done before 6, they were forced to cut another player, Jean-Gilles, to get down to 53.

So the Andrews trade actually put them one player under the limit, and their intent is to bring back Jean-Gilles, now a free agent, to fill that void.

Earlier Saturday, the Eagles dealt an undisclosed 2011 pick to the Baltimore Ravens for linebacker/defensive end Antwan Barnes, a 'tweener in Baltimore's system who will line up as an end here.

The rookies — cornerbacks Jorrick Calvin and Trevard Lindley, defensive ends Brandon Graham and Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, linebackers Jamar Chaney and Keenan Clayton, quarterback Mike Kafka, safeties Nate Allen and Kurt Coleman, tackle Austin Howard, tight end Clay Harbor and wide receiver Riley Cooper — join five other newcomers, including Barnes and offensive lineman Reggie Wells, who was acquired Friday in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals.

"It was a mature class that came in ready to play and ready to contribute," said Roseman, who's also in his first year as GM. "We didn't go into this with any set number of rookies that we wanted to keep ... but when it came down to the position battles, we felt we were keeping the best players."

Andrews likely was deemed expendable when the Eagles traded for Wells.

Andrews had recently complained publicly about the Eagles' decision to move him inside after originally signing him as a right tackle last year, in which he was available for every game despite being just eight months removed from ACL surgery. Andrews wasn't able to hold the starting spot but was back at the top of the depth chart at right guard by the start of this year's training camp.

The show of dissatisfaction by Andrews, which became more intense after the Eagles added Wells, likely was the final deal-breaker in the team's decision to send him even farther away than his brother Shawn, who spent all of last season and most of 2008 rehabbing back injuries in California, before being released this past offseason.

"Stacy had been public in his desire to play right tackle," said Roseman, clearly uncomfortable talking about the matter. "And it helps that we have a guy like Reggie here. We wish Stacy the best in Seattle. He was a class guy when he was here."

Roseman said Cole will take over for Andrews at right guard.

The 25-year-old Barnes (6-1, 250) was a fourth-round draft choice of the Ravens in 2007 and posted 20 tackles, five sacks, one interception and one forced fumble during his three-year career in Baltimore. He has seen action in 37 regular-season games and two postseason contests and has 24 career special-teams tackles.

Cutting both Harris and Demps left the Eagles with just three safeties, but that's a shortage they're willing to live with, according to Roseman.

"We kept six corners," he said. "We felt like we had some guys who, in a pinch, could play safety, and it was more about some of the guys on the team that we wanted to keep."

As always, there were some very difficult decisions.

"Some of these guys, we're hopeful that they'll come back on the practice squad," Roseman said. "But some of these veteran guys are hard decisions. You mention Kelley [Washington]. Kelley did a heck of a job. He did a good job on special teams. He's a good inside player and I think he'll get an opportunity from another team in the league. He can play, certainly. Obviously, Tracy [White] did a great job for us last year in his role. Macho [Harris] started for us and he can do a variety of things and I'm sure he'll get another opportunity soon. Quintin Demps ... has been a heck of a kick returner.

"I think what you see is that we have a lot of rookies here that got up to speed fairly quickly, and we went through this and felt that those guys were deserving of spots."

However, Roseman admitted this roster is far from set in stone.

"We're really confident with the 53-man [roster] we have," he said. "But we're going to spend the next 24 hours looking over the waiver wire, and if there's an ability to improve our team at any spot, we'll certainly look at that."


http://www.mcall.com/sports/football/eagles/mc-eagles-cn-0904-20100904-4,0,7692826.story