Often times, when a team falls from an elite one to the bottom of the league, it doesn't happen all at once. It happens with a bunch of little mistakes, over multiple years, that slowly hurts the franchise.
None of these moves listed below are going to change the Eagles' season. None will likely cost them a game.
But one consistent theme so far this season is puzzling roster moves by Howie Roseman and the Eagles' front office. Moves that might not seem like a big deal at the time, but when they are added up together, point to an issue.
A look at some of the puzzling moves from just the last few weeks that the front office has made:
1. Not putting Alshon Jeffery on PUP
When Eagles receiver Alshon Jeffery suffered a season-ending foot injury last December, many assumed it would cost him the beginning of the 2020 season as well. When Jeffery didn't take part in a single day of training camp, it was seemed like a lock he would start the season the Physically Unable to Perform list, which would have kept him out until Week 7.
The Eagles decided to keep him on the 53-man roster.
"The decision to activate Alshon is because we feel like if you kept him on PUP, that would mean basically he wouldn't be ready till the seventh game," Howie Roseman said on cut-down day. "We think he's going to be ready before that. He thinks he's going to be ready before that, and we think he's a good player. So, we want to get him back as quick as possible to help this football team."
Well, that didn't happen, as Jeffery will not be playing on Sunday — meaning he won't be dressing until at least Week 7, if not longer. Had the Eagles kept Jeffery on PUP, they would have had an extra roster spot to work with for the first six weeks of the season. Instead, Jeffery took up a roster spot, was inactive each week, and barely took part in practice.
It is hard to judge how long it will take someone to recover. But Jeffery being on the PUP seemed like an obvious move at the time. The Eagles gambled on him being ready earlier. That gamble looked risky at the time, and ultimately has not paid off.
2. Cutting Casey Toohill, Grayland Arnold
The Eagles shouldn't punt on the season just because they are 1-3-1. But they do need to be realistic about where they are at. They have an old roster that is going to be seeing plenty of veterans moving on over the next year. They are in need of all the young talent they can find, which is why the team taking 10 players in the 2020 NFL Draft was a good thing. The more young players, the better chance of finding a hit.
Last week, the team released defensive end Casey Toohill and safety Grayland Arnold. They did so to open up roster spots for either Vinny Curry or Will Parks. The move to release two young players they liked enough to have on the 53-man roster was a risky one, and although Arnold made it through waivers, Toohill was claimed by Washington. Now Toohill, a player the team liked enough to draft, to keep on the 53-man roster and to play early on in the season, is gone. Just to bring back a veteran.
Toohill might never turn into an impact player, but the Eagles ended up giving away a young player they felt (at one point) had potential for nothing — to a division rival.
3. Cutting Noah Toagiai
After tight end Joshua Perkins went down with a season-ending injury in training camp, it was clear that the team viewed UDFA Noah Toagiai as the top option to replace him. He took the snaps Perkins was getting, he got the targets that used to go to Perkins and he seemed locked in as the third tight end. For a team that runs more two-tight end sets than any other team, that was a big role.
The Eagles cut Toagiai on final cut-down day, however, and he was claimed by the Indianapolis Colts. That left the Eagles with two tight ends and scrambling to find a serviceable third option, which ended up being Richard Rodgers.
Like Toohill, the chances of Toagiai turning into an impact player aren't great. But the logic is the same — cutting a promising rookie to keep an older player (like Jeffery) on the roster was a short-sighted move at the time, and was a bad job reading the league by Roseman.
4. Not putting DeSean Jackson, Avonte Maddox on Injured Reserve
Doing whatever it takes to get back either Jackson or Maddox as soon as possible is understandable. Not wanting to completely rule them out for 3 weeks does make some sense.
But the result is the result, and the Eagles have now burned two roster spots on injured players the last three weeks by not placing Jackson and Maddox on IR. Had they placed Jackson or Maddox on IR, they would have had those open roster spots, and wouldn't have had to cut players like Toohill or Arnold.
Perhaps the player's didn't heal as quickly as expected. Each player heals differently. But the combination of the front office and the medical staff clearly misjudged how quickly both players would be back.
5. Putting Jalen Reagor on Injured Reserve one week late
This one is hard to defend. Eagles rookie receiver Jalen Reagor suffered a hand injury in the team's Week 2 loss to Los Angeles. It was known almost immediately that he wouldn't be back for at least a month. Instead of putting him on injured reserve right away, the Eagles waited a week, and put him on after their Week 3 game against Cincinnati.
The question is why?
Reagor had no chance of playing in Week 3. He had no chance of playing within three weeks of the injury. By waiting, the Eagles wasted one week of the three weeks Reagor had to be on injured reserve. There might not have been a rush or a need to fill his roster spot, but the Eagles could have just kept the spot open.
Of all the puzzling moves the Eagles have made, this one might be the most confusing.
6. Signing Josh McCown and also keeping Nate Sudfeld
The Eagles quickly moved on from Nate Sudfeld as their backup, promoting Jalen Hurts after Week 1 to the No. 2 quarterback. Since then, Sudfeld has been a healthy scratch each week. On the practice squad, which was designed this year to include players who could help a team right away, the Eagles have 41-year old Josh McCown taking up a roster spot.
That is two quarterbacks who won't be playing taking up roster spots. That is two roster spots burned on guys that can't won't the field each Sunday. Could Sudfeld have made it onto the practice squad? Considering he had almost no interest in free agency, the answer is likely yes. Could McCown have just been signed if they needed him incase of an emergency? That answer is also likely yes.
Using two roster spots on Sudfeld and McCown seems especially bad after the Eagles have scrambled to find healthy receivers, cornerbacks and offensive linemen all season.
7. Claiming Jason Huntley:
The logic behind claiming Huntley off of waivers made sense — he is a quick, explosive running back that could be used on special teams. He was active in Week 1, and it seemed like the team was going to be using him more-and-more.
Instead, Huntley has been inactive for each game since Week 1.
Carrying four running backs, especially when the team has been clear that Miles Sanders will be getting the majority of the touches, is an odd decision. Especially when there are two more on the practice squad. The Eagles having six running backs on the 69-man roster (active and practice squad) certainly seems a bit excessive, especially when as a result they have had to risk other players at more important positions to waivers.
8. Signing Hakeem Butler
A team that runs more two-tight end sets than any other team in the league signed an undrafted rookie receiver off of a practice squad to replace Dallas Goedert's spot on the roster. To no surprise, Butler has been inactive since signing.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
