The Philadelphia Eagles are set to begin training camp this week, and some jobs will be won or lost over the next month.
Here’s an early projection of the 53-man roster, a look at the locks, roster bubbles, and some of the battles that will shape the final roster.
The road to the regular season takes shape now.
Jalen Hurts, Tanner McKee, and Cole Payton
Eagles GM Howie Roseman has indicated he would be willing to keep four quarterbacks on the roster; I would be shocked. Which likely leaves one man out.
The Eagles got a long, long look at Dalton during OTAs to see what they have; they know what McKee brings.
Despite Dalton having seen every scenario in the NFL over his career, I still believe McKee would give them a greater chance to win a game if Hurts missed time.
Unless he is traded, I suspect he makes the roster, and that they move on from Andy.
Payton is controllable for 4 seasons at a very reasonable rate. If they can get him up to speed this season, he could elevate to QB2 in 2027. He stays.
Saquon Barkley, Tank Bigsby, and Will Shipley
Saquon and Tank are locks.
The field against Shipley for the final spot is Carson Steele, Dameon Pearce, and Elijah Mitchell.
Pearce was brought in to push Will, but I believe he holds off everyone to retain his RB3 status.
I am most interested to see how they utilize Steele this summer.
DeVonta Smith, Makai Lemon, Dontayvion Wicks, Hollywood Brown, Johnny Wilson, and Erik Ezukanma
DeVonta, Lemon, and Wicks are locks. Hollywood is close to being one as well.
Darius Cooper, Elijah Moore, Johnny Wilson, Danny Gray, Samori Toure, Britain Covey, Quez Watkins, and Erik Ezukanma are fighting for two spots.
Johnny Wilson seems to be healthy and ready to claim the fifth spot, and if they go six players, Elijah, Cooper, and Ezukanma are the three I am focusing on. For now, I will take a swing at Eazy E.
Dallas Goedert, Eli Stowers, Johnny Mundt, Cameron Latu
Goedert, Mundt, and Stowers are making the team.
I am going with Latu as TE4 because I believe his value as a blocker and special teams makes him harder to move on from. I am holding out hope that the team can sneak Dae' Quan Wright on their practice squad.
Grant Calcaterra, E.J. Jenkins, and Stone Smartt all have a narrow path to making the roster.
Jordan Mailata, Lane Johnson, Fred Johnson, Markel Bell, Myles Hinton, Micah Morris, Drew Kendall, Michael Jordan, Cam Jurgens, Landon Dickerson, and Tyler Steen
The five starters: Mailata, Lane, Cam, Steen, and Dickerson are locks, as are Markel Bell and Fred Johnson.
Drew Kendall seems untouchable and would have to have a really bad camp to fall out of the picture.
Rookie Micah Morris and veteran Michael Jordan give the Eagles versatility and a developmental interior lineman to move forward with, leaving one battle for a roster spot if they carry eleven.
Cameron Williams versus Myles Hinton is an intriguing camp battle to pay attention to, as Myles offers inside versatility and that could be enough to push for a spot.
I am hoping Hollin Pierce and Willie Lampkin make it to the practice squad.
John Ojukwu, Jaden Roberts, and Jake Majors are also fighting for a spot.
Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Moro Ojomo, Uar Bernard, and Ty Robinson
Jalen, Jordan, and Moro are locks; Ty Robinson could be a surprise player on the bubble and needs to improve.
It will be fascinating to see how the Eagles navigate the season with Uar. It would seem likely another team could gamble on him if they expose him to waivers, so as of now I am keeping him as one of their five interior. That comes at the expense of letting Byron Young go.
Gabe Hall and Zion Wilson are also at camp to push for a spot.
Jonathan Greenard, Jalyx Hunt, Nolan Smith Jr., A.J. Epensa, and Arnold Ebiketie
The locks are: budding star Jalyx Hunt; the hungry Nolan Smith Jr.; and the newly acquired Jonathan Greenard, who gives them a disruptive pass rusher who will be with the team all year, unlike the one he replaced, Jaelen Phillips.
Ebiketie could be the rotational player they hoped Azeez would be in 2025, and Epensa offers versatility and a guy who can shut down the run and attack from the inside.
Keyshawn James-Newby, Jose Ramirez, and Joshua Weru will be at camp to compete as well.
The one wild card here is Brandon Graham. He seems to want to go one more year if the Eagles will have him.
Zack Baun, Jihaad Campbell, Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Smael Mondon Jr., and Chance Campbell
Last season was the deepest LB room the Eagles had in over a decade; the 2026 version could be even deeper.
Zach, Jihaad, and Jeremiah are locks, with Smael knocking on that door as well. Those are the four if they go light at the position.
Deontae Lawson is a wild card; I currently have Chance as that fifth LB, but I am highly intrigued by Lawson. If Deontae does not make the 53, I’d expect to see him on their practice squad.
Quinyon Mitchell, Riq Woolen, Cooper DeJean, Jonathan Jones, Kelee Ringo
The Eagles' ‘No Fly Zone’ begins with their three locks: Q, Coop, and Riq, but there is very little depth behind them to sustain them if they encounter injuries.
Jonathan Jones is the elder statesman in the room who is versatile and able to play inside or out, and Kelee Ringo probably gets the last spot due to his special teams prowess.
Mac McWilliams, Jakorian Bennett, Ambry Thomas, Tariq Castro-Fields, Shaun Wade, and Kapena Gushiken will also be battling for a spot.
This is a position I could see them adding another body to if anyone cuts a defensive back the Eagles have coveted.
Mac is the one player I could see forcing them to carry six corners if he has a standout camp, maybe at the expense of the luxury of that sixth wide receiver spot.
Andrew Mukuba, Marcus Epps, Michael Carter II, and Cole Wisniewski
Another position that seems unlikely to satisfy Howie. I would expect another addition who will push Epps as the starter opposite Mukuba.
Andre’ Sam is a sleeper to pay attention to as the team seems to have a lot of belief in him, while J.T. Gray, Tucker Lagre (NFI), and Maximus Pulley should all be in camp to show what they can do as well.
If nobody separates during camp, Howie could be looking to pull off another late-August trade for a veteran safety.
Jake Elliott and Braden Mann
Eilliot is hard to move on from due to his contract extension; Mann is a field-flipper on a new deal.
Rocco is a player they may be able to re-sign after cuts. He currently has no competition.
It would be surprising if they do not bring someone in to compete with Rocco, but since that position is not set, I am only going with 2 special teams players for their initial 53-man roster.
Rocco or some other long snapper will obviously be on the one to start the season.
I do not expect the initial 53 to be an indication of what the final week-one 53 will be, as there are a lot of talented players fighting for a handful of unclaimed spots who could change their fortune with a great camp.
With a new offense being installed, it will be one of the more competitive camps on that side of the ball that we have seen during Sirianni’s tenure.
What changes on the roster would you have made?
As always, thank you for reading!
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