Who Makes The Cut: Safety
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Who Makes The Cut: Safety
Jeff McLane, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Eagles will encounter tough decisions when determining their 53-man roster. During the next two weeks, The Inquirer's Eagles beat writers will try our best to predict who stays and who goes. The NFL deadline for teams to trim rosters from 90 to 80 is Aug. 27. Final cuts are due by Aug. 31. Here’s the lineup:
Wed, Aug. 15: Offensive line
Thur., Aug. 16: Defensive tackles
Fri., Aug. 17: Cornerbacks
Mon., Aug. 20: Running backs
Tues., Aug. 21: Wide receivers / tight ends
Wed., Aug. 22: Linebackers
Thur., Aug. 23: Safeties
Fri., Aug. 24: Quarterbacks / Specialists
Mon., Aug. 27: Defensive ends
LIKELY TO KEEP: 4.
WHO STAYS: Nate Allen, Oshiomogho Atogwe, Kurt Coleman, Jaiquawn Jarrett.
WHO GOES: Wade Bonner, Tom Nelson, Phillip Thomas.
PUP: Colt Anderson.
Before I get to Jarrett – the big question mark at this position – let’s take a quick gander at the starters. Allen and Coleman are entering their third seasons, and while neither has established himself as a consistent playmaker in the NFL, both are locks at this point to open the season with the first team defense. That tells you a little about the depth the Eagles have at safety and why Jarrett may actually make the 53-man roster -- believe it or not.
The Eagles signed Atogwe in June after Jarrett showed very little during OTAs to suggest that he had made some quantum leap after an unproductive rookie season. A veteran of seven seasons in the NFL, Atogwe was about as good as Howie Roseman could get at the time, but there were a few opportunities to acquire greater talent when free agency opened three months earlier. The Eagles had significant issues on defense at two positions – linebacker and safety. They made a strong effort to upgrade at linebacker in the offseason, trading for DeMeco Ryans and drafting Mychal Kendricks in the second round. Roseman and Andy Reid did virtually nothing at safety and simply responded to queries with a “We like our young safeties” response.
Allen was inconsistent last year, but his knee wasn’t 100 percent recovered for most of the season. He has no excuses this season. He’s healthy. He’s a second-round pick. He needs to play at a high level. Coleman was benched at one point because of tackling issues, but Jarrad Page was so bad that Coleman got another shot. He’s a heady player, but a liability if he has to go one-on-one with a receiver.
Jarrett, if it’s possible, has looked worse this preseason than last. I don’t think he’ll ever start in the NFL, which would qualify as a major disappointment for a second-round pick. It’s not his fault the Eagles took him so high, but that’s the breaks. If the Eagles had a better alternative or if Colt Anderson (torn ACL) was healthy by the start of the season, I don’t think Jarrett would make the roster. But Anderson looks destined to open the season on the Physically Unable to Perform List and the other options aren’t that great. Atogwe has been injured much of the preseason. He missed several games last season due to injury. I’m not sure how well he’s playing at this point. But he appears to have a spot on the roster as the third safety, apparently based mostly on his experience. Nelson was splitting second-team reps with Jarrett a week ago, but he injured his ankle and probably won’t play Friday at Cleveland.
So that leaves Jarrett on the 53-man roster – at least for the time being. I could easily see the Eagles scouring the waiver wire after cut-down day, or Roseman pulling off a trade to upgrade at the position. But until then Jarrett stays.
Uhh do half of you remember what happened to the "Dream Team". We acquired a lot of new defensive talent, with no training camp...need I say more?? Yes teams trade in the preseason (Fokou and Lloyd trade), but rarely do teams swap good players (Fokou and Lloyd were back ups taken in the 7th round). Teams tend to trade "depth guys" to one another, but its rare you find a good match because guys have to fit into new systems. This is generally why 1 team compensates with draft picks bc the other team would rather find guys that fit their system later on. Idk what half of you wanted Reid or Roseman to get, this just supports my theory that half of the Eagles fan base is clueless.— kdawg- I actually read more of the comments on this article, so where ever I say "half of you" or "half the Eagles fan base" change that half to 75%. 3/4's of you are hopeless.— kdawg
- THEY ARE NOT TRADING FOR A SAFETY! Maybe one gets cut for cap reasons during camp, but buckle up, this is what we got for this season. Allen and Coleman should improve with the upgrades in talent that's in front of them. Additionally, they have corners who should be where they need to be on every play. All the more reason why Jarrett should never see a meaningful snap this season.— beegal99
- Keeping Jarrett (who Stinks) is just a way of padding Reid's drafting stats. He does this regardless of how bad the player is and has quite a history keeping duds on the team and letting go of better players. IE: Laws over Landri last year! Lucky for them, they got landri back!— cooperhawk
- He blows...Why did they draft him...?Juan cant be much help..Get rid of both of them ASAP...— Gregory1
- I know all the experts on the board say there is no chance of them making a trade blah blah but it does happen every now and then. I also agree that for one of the guys who would otherwise get cut, is not getting you more than a late round pick because the other team knows he is getting cut. That's why you try and trade one of your starters like Babin since you have the depth to not lose much with the replacement. Now the team that is getting him might actually be willing to give you their starting Safety if they have similar depth at that position. That's the only time a trade in the NFL can work.— @cip23
- kdawg were you this insecure and angry from birth, or is it a recent development?
While a trade may be unlikely, It's a virtual certainty that Roseman has been scouring other rosters looking for help at safety - forget learning a new system, the Eagles would settle for someone with decent instincts at this point.
Besides depth at d-line, birds also have excess talent at running back (albeit raw) - maybe someone like the Detroit Lions might be interested..? (No idea what they have by way of help at safety)— Mr. Magee - i must say jarrett has disappointed.. as a temple student i saw him make plays all over the field. you could argue it was a lack of competition but he did look far superior out there on the field then. a superior tackler. from what i saw in the pittsburgh game, he was atleast a step slow on every chance he had to make a play. maybe hes afraid to make a play? i think with time, he will settle in fine. but the eagles dont have very much time to waste waiting around.— Noah11
- It;s true that drafting earl thomas would have been better but in todays NFL (passing and more passing) teams spread the offense and it's less and less 2 safetys but 1 safety and 3 db's. Safetys are going the way of the fullback and stove top popcorn— sammydelphia
- Will Jarrett make the team? Of course he will. The Eagles have no options because they didn't do anything to fill this glaring hole, like acquire a legitimate NFL -starting- safety.
"Neither [Allen or Coleman] has established himself as a consistent playmaker in the NFL."
Neither has established himself as a legitimate safety in the NFL. The Eagles don't have an established safety on the roster. A playmaker would be a luxury at this point.
"That tells you a little about the depth the Eagles have at safety and why Jarrett may actually make the 53-man roster -- believe it or not."
You think? It's been this way since last season ended, not that anyone has written about it, and the entire league will exploit it again this season.— PhillyExpat 
I think its too soon to just cut a 2nd round pick, I dont care how bad they look. The guy has some ability and deserves a 2nd season to show it. He is slow so he needs to be mentally perfect to make up for that, and a rookie wont be able to do that for a few years. Its a mistake if they release Jaqwainn too soon, its not like they are competing for anything this year. Whole organization is a joke. OJ OTOGWE, 2ND BEST SIGNING OF THE OFFSEASON.- I think we have the answer already in town to help at safety- Keenan Clayton. He's athletic and played safety in college. Also he'd be a hybrid type safety/ linebacker— truephillyfan326
- Biggest weakness of our team for sure. Oh... since the day Dawkins left by the way.— blueye7
- I would rather have a waiver wire safety than Jarrett. At least there is the possibility that he may be able to play. I already know what I have with Jarrett. I don't think that the Eagles will part with Jarrett this year though. That would really be admitting to a mistake.— Bobphxville
