Ever since the NFL went away from gradual roster cuts in August to the one “big bang” cut on the final Saturday before the regular season, I hear that Hendrix composition in my head, the one called “Machine Gun” he did with the Band of Gypsys recorded Live at the Fillmore East on December 31, 1969.
It starts out with this ominous Delta Blues guitar riff of foreboding, adds some lyrical call-and-answer messages that are basically about soldiers caught up in battle, fires off some rat-a-tat-tat drum flourishes which simulate a military issue machine gun sound, then fills in with some wailing lead guitar solos which drip with angst and anguish.
Now the final roster cuts (which as we know are never truly “final”) are hardly life-and-death matters, but the feeling of getting mown down along with 36 other brothers on the same day in the same battle by a machine gun blast from the front office is no fun for any of these guys:
Released: WR Kamar Aiken, DE Steven Means, WR Markus Wheaton
Waived/Injured: CB D.J. Killings, TE Gannon Sinclair, T Toby Weathersby
Waived: RB Josh Adams, CB De’Vante Bausby, LB Asantay Brown, TE Billy Brown, QB Joe Callahan, DT Winston Craig, WR Rashard Davis, TE Anthony Denham, G Aaron Evans, DE Danny Ezechukwu, S Ironhead Gallon, G Darrell Greene, QB Christian Hackenberg, T Taylor Hart, RB Matt Jones, DE Joe Ostman, WR Darius Prince, RB Donnel Pumphrey, DT Elijah Qualls, S Jeremy Reaves, DT Aziz Shittu, CB Chandon Sullivan, C Jon Toth, WR Bryce Treggs, WR Greg Ward, LB Jaboree Williams, LB Kyle Wilson, and WR Tim Wilson.
The last cut was an especially difficult one for GM Howie Roseman. Defensive end Steven Means has been lauded in the past by teammates for his effort on the practice field. He had three sacks in the preseason finale against the Jets. The Eagles just happen to have quality depth at the position.
“Steven was the last cut. I think because of what he means as a person and as a player, really hard. Really hard one,” Roseman said. “We’re deep at some positions that are hard to find. At the same time, it doesn’t make it any easier.”
The roster is certainly not finalized. Teams have until Sunday at noon to make waiver claims for players released today, and one hour later can begin forming the 10-player practice squads.
Other transactions made by the team:
Placed DT Tim Jernigan on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list. He will miss at least the first six games of the season.
Placed S Chris Maragos on the Reserve/Physically Unable of Perform list. He, too, will miss at least the first six games of the season.
In addition, Howie Roseman announced that the team acquired safety Deiondre’ Hall from the Bears. Chicago received a conditional seventh-round draft pick in 2019 in return.
The 24-year-old Hall is 6-2, 206 pounds, and a former fourth-round pick (No. 127 overall) out of Northern Iowa. He will not count toward the Eagles’ Week 1 roster as he is on the Reserve/Suspended list for violating the NFL-NFLPA Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse.
“We did our background work on him,” Roseman said. “Joe Douglas was with Chicago when they drafted him in 2016. He’s a safety who has a corner background as well. Had a chance to get exposure to him in the preseason and his tape.”
In 10 career games, Hall has seven tackles, three pass breakups, and one interception. He played in just two games in 2017 after spending the first 12 contests of the season on Injured Reserve with a hamstring injury.
For now, here are those 53 guys who survived the Machine Gun:
Quarterback (3): Nick Foles, Nate Sudfeld, Carson Wentz
Running Back (4): Jay Ajayi, Corey Clement, Wendell Smallwood, Darren Sproles
Offensive Line (10): Brandon Brooks, Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, Jason Peters, Matt Pryor, Isaac Seumalo, Halapoulivati Vaitai, Chance Warmack, Stefen Wisniewski
Wide Receiver (6): Nelson Agholor, DeAndre Carter, Shelton Gibson, Mack Hollins, Alshon Jeffery, Mike Wallace
Tight End (4): Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, Joshua Perkins, Richard Rodgers
Defensive Line (9): Derek Barnett, Michael Bennett, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Bruce Hector, Chris Long, Haloti Ngata, Josh Sweat, Destiny Vaeao
Linebacker (5): Nathan Gerry, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Jordan Hicks, LaRoy Reynolds, Joe Walker
Cornerback (5): Ronald Darby, Rasul Douglas, Sidney Jones, Avonte Maddox, Jalen Mills
Safety (4): Corey Graham, Malcolm Jenkins, Rodney McLeod, Tre Sullivan
Specialists (3): Jake Elliott, Cameron Johnston, Rick Lovato
“I did not see this coming” department: two longshots, wide receiver DeAndre Carter (5-8, 190) and offensive tackle Jordan Mailata, earned spots on the roster with their performances in the preseason and through their overall work ethic in Training Camp.
“You’ve got to go with what you see and DeAndre came in late with our scouting department, led by Joe (Douglas) who had him in Baltimore, recommended to us for a workout, he had a great workout, and every day he came to practice and made a play,” Roseman said. “We’ll see how he does here as he gets started, but he certainly deserved the roster spot.”
Carter was signed by the Eagles on July 28 and learned the playbook quickly enough to see action in the team’s first preseason game on August 9. In four total preseason games, Carter finished second on the team in receiving with 10 catches for 178 yards. Carter also had the most yards on punt returns with 38 on three returns in the final two preseason games.
“We went through all his team reps since he’s been here and all his targets since he’s been here,” Roseman said. “You see the separation, you see the versatility, he can play inside and out, he’s strong to the ball, he’s got quickness to separate, he’s got straight-line speed. When you look at his numbers, he’s got a 1.45 10 (10-yard split). He’s got incredible speed. The play was really good.”
Mailata’s presence on the 53-man roster may have been one of the best stories from cutdown day in the NFL. The 6-8, 346-pound former rugby player had never played a down of football when he was drafted by the Eagles in the seventh round (233rd overall) of the 2018 draft. Roseman and the team knew they had a project on their hands but one that could pay great dividends long term.
“We’re very fortunate to have Jeff Stoutland as our offensive line coach,” Roseman said. “When we were in the draft room and decided to trade two seventh-round picks for a rugby player, he said out loud, it’s kind of funny. And you saw him in the offseason and the strides he has taken have just been incredible.
“You saw it in the Cleveland game, you saw it against the Jets, he just gets better and better. It’s just so hard to find guys that are 6-8, (346) pounds who can run like that, that would have the core strength that he does. Certainly, there’s no guarantees, but we want to develop players and when you can find guys at hard-to-find positions to develop that get you excited.”
“The conversation really became, with all the time we had spent on this and the traits that he has and his body, we’d rather see him fail in Philadelphia than have success somewhere else,” Roseman said. “Bill Parcells said at one point, ‘There are not many men on this Earth that are 6-8, (348) pounds, and can move their feet like that and are that athletic and that coordinated.’ So, we wanted to get him into the program.”
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