Eagles sign LB Ty Powell, TE M.J. McFarland

The Eagles signed linebacker Ty Powell and tight end M.J. McFarland on Tuesday. They released quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson and offensive lineman Brett Boyko to make room on the 90-man roster.

Powell, 28, played for the Buffalo Bills from 2013 to 2015. He was on the Bills when Jim Schwartz was the defensive coordinator in 2014, becoming the fourth player on the Eagles' roster who was on Schwartz's defense in Buffalo in 2014. Nigel Bradham, Leodis McKelvin, and Ron Brooks are Powell's former teammates.

Powell, who is 6-foot-2 and 249 pounds, missed all of last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. The 2013 seventh-round pick from Harding has 23 career tackles and one career sack. Linebacker is perhaps the thinnest position on the Eagles' roster, so Powell is rare veteran depth in the meeting room.

McFarland tried out for the Eagles over the weekend, and is the only rookie tryout player to make the team. He is 6-foot-5 and 253 pounds. He began his career at Texas, where he started eight of 36 games and had 19 receptions for 178 yards and three touchdowns in three seasons. McFarland then transferred to UTEP, but he never played for the Miners after testing positive for a banned substance.

By releasing Bethel-Thompson, the Eagles have only three quarterbacks for this week's organized team activities: Sam Bradford, Chase Daniel, and Carson Wentz. By comparison, the Eagles had five quarterbacks for Chip Kelly's first OTA in 2013. Bethel-Thompson signed with the Eagles earlier in the offseason.

Boyko was an undrafted rookie last season who spent the year on the Eagles' practice squad. The Eagles drafted two offensive linemen this season and signed two undrafted rookies.