Eagles make flurry of roster moves

And on the day after the end of the last workouts before training camp, as expected, the Eagles made a flurry of roster moves.

Here is the rundown:

* The Birds signed defensive tackle Kimo von Oelhoffen to a 1-year deal. A 15-year veteran, he played in eight games last season for the Eagles with four tackles. He has also played for Cincinnati, Pittsburgh (where he was a member of the 2005 Super Bowl champions), and the New York Jets. It wasn't a big shock to see von Oelfhoffen return; was was noted here last month, the Eagles kept his locker stall intact this spring, complete with nametag, though with 88 players on hand, some were sharing lockers or working out of temporary units set up in the middle of the floor. At 37, Kimo probably didn't need to come to minicamp. Brian Dawkins is very happy, because he is no longer the oldest Eagle.

* With less flexibility this year than in past years because there are no NFL Europe roster exemptions, teams had to get down to 80 players before training camp. To get there, the Eagles cut nine players: LB Gary Butler, DT Jeremy Clark, CB Tanard Davis, WR Terrell Golden, QB Casey Hansen, DE Xzavie Jackson, DT LaJuan Ramsey, DE A.J. Schable, and LB Markell Staffieri. Ramsey is the most notable name on that list. The Birds thought he was a pretty good sixth-round find early in 2006; he was activated for the first five games that season, and might have been the top sub d-tackle. But Ramsey's star faded later that season. He was active for only nine games last season, and sat for the final four.

Davis is a corner the Birds signed off Carolina's practice squad last December. He worked dilgently to get into the kick and punt return picture this spring, but really struggled. In fact, first-time observers of minicamp workouts often asked "Who's that guy staggering around under the punts?" It was Davis.

Given that they cut Ramsey and Clark, a practice-squadder last season who had his moments in training camp, the Eagles must really see a role for von Oelhoffen again this year. We can also infer that they feel they need to give Dan Klecko the courtesy of a training camp look at defensive tackle, after moving him from fullback last week. (They're giving him some time, as well, to try to bulk up to d-tackle size again.)

Hansen had one of the all-time great tattoos -- it covered his whole back and involved six-guns, a skull and his name written across his shoulders in smoke trailing from the barrels of the guns -- but his arm seemed erratic. Maybe the biggest inference to be drawn from his release is that the Eagles much be reasonably certain they'll have three healthy quarterbacks when training camp opens July 21. One of those three would be that McNabb fellow.

* Sixth-round draft pick Mike Gibson and Andy Studebaker each agreed to 4-year deals. Gibson is a guard from Cal and Studebaker is a Division III All-American linebacker from Wheaton College in Illinois. He has said he is distantly related to the former car company, which produced some nice looking sedans. The Eagles now have signed four of their 10 draftees.

* The makeover in the scouting department continued with the hiring of  Jeremy Snyder as a pro scout and Mike Miller as college scouting coordinator. Snyder, 29, spent the last five seasons with the Bears, the last four as a football operations assistant. Miller, 25, is in his third season in Philadelphia after joining the Eagles in 2006 as a pro personnel assistant, before being elevated to college scouting assistant in 2007.