Who Makes The Cut: Safety
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Who Makes The Cut: Safety
Jeff McLane
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.
Trade a D lineman for a safety. Trade depth to solve a weakness.— tpizza- This isn't hockey, baseball or basketball. No one is going to give up a starting quality safety for a lineman at the end of preseason. It just doesn't happen in the NFL. The Eagles could trade one of their D linemen for a pick next year, but no player worth having will be relinquished by another team at this point in the season, no matter what the Eagles offer in trade.
- Correct. At this point in the game, if the Birds are not confident with what they've got there, the best course of action would be to pluck someone off waivers/or off the practice squad to gt them acclimated to the system by October...Trades can happen if a team suffers an injury at a key position,thus curtailing depth. — bearsfriend
- ARrogant the land mass, to S.D. for beached whale; same athleticism, twice the smarts.— mccloudmj
- Yep, tpizza has the obvious answer. Tapp for a safety?— armchairGM
- Heck, you can throw in Jarrett, Hanson, Gilyard, Dixon, anyone else who might be on the bubble to make this team and throw in a late round pick, but most teams aren't going to trade someone at this point for a guy they think they'll be able to pick up on cut day. Meaning, if you're offering them in a trade, then you're probably going to cut them anyway. — BeFrank
- tpizzhispants is a bigot and a racist.— sewell guy
- pizzahispants is a racist pig— sewell guy
- Oh that's right, kindergarten is out. — tpizza
- Seems to me that there could be a serious chance to make a trade here. We have some great depth at DL. I would trade just about anybody on the line for the best safety tat we can get. There is a lot of depth so even giving up one of our better ends wouldn't hurt if it got us a starting caliber safety. Trades are rare but in this case could happen in the next 10 days.— @cip23
- armchair, same player, same thought.— tpizza
- What would Babin get in a trade? We have depth. and that will clear his contract to resign Maclin next year.— dmanphilly
- I suggested that to Ray Didinger the before Draft (pre-Vinny Curry), as I liked the fact that Graham would come back with a chip on his shoulder...along with the promise Hunt showed in limited action last year...He found it intriguing, figuring his value would be so high after his immense sack total (TY Wide 9), and a medium range salary...Obviously, he'd have to be healthy. What's the rush with Maclin? — bearsfriend
- In theory, with the Eagles' stud defensive line, two shutdown corners and improved linebacking corps, any two warm bodies should be able to do reasonably well at safety. In reality, at least in the first two pre-season games, it looked like the team will have the same problems as last year on defense. I know it's just preseason and the games are meaningless, but I have a sinking feeling that Juan Castillo could have turned the 1985 Bears defense into an 8-8 squad.— jsb235
- You could also trade Avant, his contract price goes way up next year. Move Hall to slot, he's caught everything in camp.— kelly11
