The best time of the year is finally here.
The Eagles players will arrive on Wednesday to the NovaCare Complex for the beginning of training camp, the unofficial start of the 2019 season. The team enters this year with one of the best and deepest rosters in the NFL, which should make training camp that much more exciting.
Where does the roster stand heading into Thursday's first practice of training camp?
Here is how I would sort out all of the players on the team's roster:
Long shots (22): Joey Alfieri, Ryan Bates, Trae Elston, Josh Hawkins, Carlton Agudosi, Anthony Fabiano, Jeremiah McKinnon, Braxton Miller, Donnel Pumphrey, Alex Singleton, Will Tye, Greg Ward, Nate Herbig, Cody Kessler, Jay Liggins, Sue Opeta, Keegan Render, Anthony Rush, DeAndre Thompkins, Casey Tucker, Kevin Wilkins, Godwin Igwebuike
Analysis: The Eagles have some interesting bottom-of-the-roster players, a sign of just how deep the team is. Receiver Braxton Miller could quickly find his way onto the roster bubble if he has a strong camp, as the receiving spots outside of the top four are wide open. Two cornerbacks to keep an eye on in this group are Jay Liggins and Jeremiah McKinnon, both of whom had strong showings in minicamp. The issue for them is that cornerback might be the toughest position on the roster to make the team. Safety Trae Elston is also an interesting player at the bottom of the roster, as he has been on the team's active roster before, and the final safety spot is fairly wide open.
On the bubble (21): Josh Adams, T.J. Edwards, Nate Gerry, Shelton Gibson, Daeshon Hall, Deiondre' Hall, Bruce Hector, Treyvon Hester, Boston Scott, Mack Hollins, Joshua Perkins, Paul Worrilow, Joe Ostman, Andrew Sendejo, Wendell Smallwood, Corey Clement, Hassan Ridgeway, Tre Sullivan, Clayton Thorson, Charles Johnson, Marken Michel
Analysis: It has been a long time since the Eagles had this kind of depth heading into training camp and the result is going to be a lot of good players getting cut.
The battle at defensive tackle is going to be a good one, as Fletcher Cox, Malik Jackson and Timmy Jernigan are all locks, leaving two spots for three quality players — Hector, Hester and Ridgeway. Ridgeway might have an edge over the other two, as the team traded for him during the draft and admitted they have had their eyes on him since he came in the league. Hester might be next up, considering he had the game-winning field goal block last year in the playoffs.
The players closest to making the team on the bubble are Hollins, Clement, Gerry and Thorson. All of them will make the roster barring either getting hurt in training camp or having a disastrous showing. Thorson will only be released if the Eagles are sure he will make it through waivers. Health will be key for Clement. As long as he shows he is healthy and the same player he was prior to the injury he will make the team. He should head into camp feeling he has a pretty firm grasp on the fourth running back spot — but it isn't locked in yet. Health is also part of the reason Hollins is on the bubble, but the difference between Hollins and Clement is that Clement has proven he can play at the NFL level — Hollins still needs to show he deserves a roster spot. Special teams could be key for Hollins.
Trade Candidates (5): Sidney Jones, Mack Hollins, Rasul Douglas, Wendell Smallwood, Corey Clement
Analysis: These players are either on the bubble or locks, but could find themselves on another roster before the end of camp. It would be shocking if teams weren't calling Howie Roseman throughout camp trying to poach players off the bottom of his roster before the Eagles cut them, considering the depth the Eagles have. Helping Roseman is that Joe Douglas is now running the Jets. It wouldn't be surprising if Douglas tries to trade for players on the Eagles' roster that he likes, but knows Roseman isn't crazy about.
Jones and Douglas find themselves on this list because of the depth the team has on cornerback. It is possible Roseman decides to go into the season with as much depth as possible at cornerback considering the health issues the team had at the position last year. If a team is willing to offer up a fourth-round pick for either Jones or Douglas, however, and a young cornerback like Liggins or McKinnon impress, he could decide to pull the trigger.
Eagles fans might be surprised to see Smallwood on this list, but Smallwood has shown he is a dependable backup and solid kick returner, showing signs of improvement last season when he was on the field. Smallwood likely wouldn't make it through waivers if he was released, and a team might be willing to offer up a conditional draft pick to land him.
Locks (45): Nelson Agholor, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Nigel Bradham, Brandon Brooks, Zach Brown, Blake Countess, Fletcher Cox, Vinny Curry, Ronald Darby, Andre Dillard, Rasul Douglas, Jake Elliott, Zach Ertz, L.J. Fort, Dallas Goedert, Brandon Graham, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Jordan Howard, DeSean Jackson, Malik Jackson, Alshon Jeffery, Timmy Jernigan, Malcolm Jenkins, Lane Johnson, Cameron Johnston, Sidney Jones, Jason Kelce, Cre'Von LeBlanc, Rick Lovato , Avonte Maddox, Shareef Miller, Jason Peters, Matt Pryor, Miles Sanders, Isaac Seumalo, Darren Sproles, Josh Sweat, Nate Sudfeld, Richard Rodgers, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Derek Barnett, Jordan Mailata, Rodney McLeod, Jalen Mills, Carson Wentz
Analysis: Barring a trade, it would be shocking if any of these players are releases and aren't on the roster next season. Having 45 locks this early on in the offseason is unusually high compared to last year, a sign of just how veteran-heavy this team is.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
