Posted: Saturday, September 5, 2009, 2:58 PM | 15 comments |
 

Feeley remains with team; Vick exempt
options
 

A.J. Feeley isn't going anywhere for now.

The Eagles' veteran quarterback remained on the 53-man roster that will be released at 6 p.m., according to a league source.

Michael Vick, meanwhile, will be placed on the team's exempt list, which means he cannot practice with the team. Vick can attend meetings and practice, but he cannot participate.The move allows the Eagles to keep three quarterbacks while Vick serves his two-game suspension that will end with a Week 3 game against Kansas City.

Stay tuned for more roster news.

KLECKO CUT

Dan Klecko confirmed that he was released by the Eagles today.

"I thought I had a pretty good preseason, so I was a little surprised," Klecko said from his home in South Jersey. "But how much can you really be surprised in this league any more."

Klecko said the news was relayed to him by phone from Howie Roseman, the Eagles' vice president of player personnel.

"The last couple weeks, I guess I saw a little bit of the writing on the wall," Klecko said. "I was hoping if I played well enough in the games that it would matter, but I don't think it did."

The release of Klecko probably will allow second-year defensive end Bryan Smith to remain with the team. If that's the case, the Eagles' roster of defensive linemen will look like this: Smith, Trent Cole, Juqua Parker, Darren Howard, Chris Clemons, Trevor Laws, Jason Babin, Victor Abiamiri, Brodrick Bunkley and Mike Patterson.

Klecko's contributions as a pass-rushing defensive tackle became diminished because the Eagles have adopted an NFL trend of moving defensive ends to tackle on passing downs. Howard and Abiamiri were the Eagles' primary defensive tackles in passing downs at the end of last season and defensive coordinator Sean McDermott also used Cole and Parker in that role during the preseason. 

Klecko, the son of former New York Jets lineman Joe Klecko, had a brief but interesting tenure with the Eagles. He signed with the team as a free agent  before last season as a fullback. By the end of the Eagles' 2008 spring camps, Klecko had moved back to defensive tackle, but when the team struggled to run the football on short-yardage downs early last season, he again became a fullback.

With the signing of free-agent fullback Leonard Weaver this offseason, Klecko found himself back at defensive tackle. 

"It was fun," Klecko said. "It was a good experience. I learned a little more football from the offensive side and I'm a better football player for it. There is no bitterness."
 
Klecko said he hopes to be with another team by Monday and he believes he still has the ability to help a team as a fullback.
 
"I feel like I had a good enough preseason that I've earned a job somewhere, but you never know," he said. "I especially think I could still help a team in short-yardage and goal-line situations. I know the Eagles got Leonard and he's one of the best fullbacks in the league, but I feel like I can lend a hand at that position. I played a whole year there and I matured at that position."

The Eagles will reveal their 53-man roster at 6 p.m.
Posted by Bob Brookover @ 2:58 PM  Permalink | 15 comments
15
Comments   
  • Comment removed.
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:17 PM, 09/05/2009
    Anther Cryboy fan in a PHILLY Web site......Get a life!!!!!
    — tonygreeneagle5
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:33 PM, 09/05/2009
    zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
    — delder
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:50 PM, 09/05/2009
    I really don't see how this helps Bryan Smith, and it shouldn't, because he had a very pedestrian preseason (outside of the INT). I think they just go with one less lineman because of Abiamiri and Howard's versatility.
    — coatesvillain
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:54 PM, 09/05/2009
    I think Parker might still get the axe...
    — SilverCTS
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:29 PM, 09/05/2009
    parker isnt going anywhere. Will Buckley or Reggie Brown stick, that is the question.
    — LGbalsac
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:31 PM, 09/05/2009
    It should have been Vick.
    — sackvicknow
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:40 PM, 09/05/2009
    I like Klecko...he's a hardnosed player who always did whatever the team asked him to do. But he's not a difference maker.
    — BurbGuy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:45 PM, 09/05/2009
    We should all wish him well. He was a local guy and went to Temple. He has three rings and will land somewhere and be an asset to that team.
    — dgatens
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:00 PM, 09/05/2009
    Good luck Klecko, you showed what team-first mentality is all about by switching positions twice in one season. Hope he catches on somewhere else, just too much depth on this team at d-line.
    — Bleue
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:29 PM, 09/05/2009
    not a smart move. he's a good inside rusher, something the birds have nothing of outside of when howard or abiaramiri moves inside. klecko has performed quite well in both last season and this preseason at d tackle. can't quite figure why they'd do this. parker or clemons could have been cut first, and if we were going on merit brian smith would be gone too. stupid pick there by a reaching reid but they'll hold on to him despite him showing nothing in hopes he can improve to average and salvage some of the value from that 3rd round reach.
    — kappadonna
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:45 PM, 09/05/2009
    lidge blows another game and not a mention on philly.com
    — JACK V


15 comments
About Jeff McLane and Jonathan Tamari






Jeff McLane (left) began covering the Eagles in April 2009 after covering college sports and Penn State football in particular. Before that he wrote about high school sports and before that he worked in the mailroom (not quite). Find Jeff on Facebook and follow him on Twitter for instant updates on the Eagles.

Jonathan Tamari (right) began covering the Eagles in April 2010. He previously covered New Jersey state government and politics, reporting and writing about elections, policy debates and the many personalities that drive the Garden State, from three recent governors to the many musicians bidding to write the state song. He has been at the Inquirer since June 2008. Follow him on Twitter at @JonathanTamari.

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