Six Takeaways From Howie Roseman's 53-man Roster Press Conference

Bo Wolf and EJ Smith here at the Eagles facility. We just heard from how he

rose meant a day after he cut the roster to 53 players. Three takeaways each

you go first, EJ. Yeah, I thought what he had to say about the IPP guys Joshua

Wehrin who are Bernard was noteworthy. The question was post to him

referencing Jordan Milata making the initial 53 man roster his first season

with the team. And he poured cold water on the idea that these guys are going to

follow the same track as Jordan Milata. He mentioned that Jordan Milata had

played professional sports before and you just acknowledge the long road that

both Joshua Wehrin and Robert Ard have in front of them. Now like yeah I still

think that Joshua Wehrin showed a lot in the preseason. Obviously he wasn't

claimed today so the Eagles made they made the right decision in terms of the

result. I actually still have an issue with the process but I won't I won't

out the labor it. Basically how your husband said that these guys still have a

long-term development track ahead of them. He mentioned an IPP guy that made a 53

man roster for the first time this season after entering the league in 2023 and I

think you know he said that that's not a timeline that's necessarily you know

a hard and fast rule for these guys and I think it is probably emblematic of

what they have envisioned for these two guys. And I think how he roseman understands

that most of the other front offices in the league are thinking much more about

the short term and who can help you out this Sunday in winning a game.

And the possibility of seeing a guy like Wehrin go somewhere else where they

don't have as much of a good developmental program. It's not as much of a

chance it's going to hurt you if that makes sense. Yeah. Whereas the chances of him

getting to where the Eagles think he can be are better here so they can accept that risk

a little bit more. Yeah I'm still you know I'm still I wish that he had made the team but

yeah they were right I mean they sure I made the right bet. We sometimes can overstate like

the plucky undrafted guy and understate a guy who was a day free pick. Just how much the draft

pedigree plays into the interest you'll have across the NFL. Right well let's get to then the

four guys who were claimed. Yeah including a guy who was undrafted. Copennaka

Schicken claimed by the Colts. I would imagine based on the strength of a special team state.

Yeah a guy who as we're talking about can contribute week one potentially on special

teams. Eagles lost two draft picks and Miles Hinton and Cam Williams and then Cam Latu.

Yeah boy special teams again it makes sense that like teams are claiming special teams mavens.

And then I feel like the the offensive lineman nobody here expected those guys to make the

roster necessarily. Yeah you know how he's not happy that four guys got claimed you know he said

you know he he wishes he had a couple of those back. Not necessarily in who they released but maybe

how things were handled. Yeah I think they're probably okay with how things turned out and they're

excited about the guys they got back in the practice. Yeah as much as I have sung Cam Latu's

praises I think it probably is reflective of his special teams value. Being the thing that outweighs

EJ Jenkins is on field offensive value and then making that choice but he did say you know he told

Michael Clay-Yosom one he didn't specify who that was but I think we can't read between

all of them. You mentioned to J Jenkins he said some interesting things about why he made the roster

and why Elijah more made the roster two guys who some people might have been surprised to see

this is that that synergy that we have here because I was going to be in my next takeaway is him

talking about why EJ Jenkins did make the initial 53 he's not someone that many of us expected

actually was talking to Olivia Riner from the inquire today nobody had EJ Jenkins on their 53 man

roster so I think what the Eagles saw on him is actually surprising given he's a you know converted

receiver was his blocking ability and the value across the NFL that having that inline blocking

tight end really has for these offenses the offense at Sean Manion is installing here you need multiple

viable blocking blocking options combo guys and I think that they really view EJ Jenkins as someone

who not only is a good run blocker but he even mentioned him as a past blocker as well.

Yeah him and past pro so I think when you think about how EJ Jenkins came in the league it's

hard to envision him being talked that way but I mean I've seen him around the building here for years

now yeah he's a big guy he's filled out and I do think that he had a quietly good training camp

you know so I think in hindsight it makes sense that he's on it did cost him camp lots you know

you have to wonder if it were the inverse or DJ Jenkins have been claimed right but I think the

bet the Eagles made is that if they were going to lose one of those guys they would have rather lost

the tight end that could really contribute on special teams because those guys are a little bit

easier to find in comparison to how much of a premium teams are placing on these blocking combo

guys right now let's talk about the four quarterbacks because I think we've all spent a lot of time

you know bemoaning the situation and we've talked about it as if you know the Eagles have been

maybe a little bit too wedded to they're in a little bit too stubborn about this whole thing

and I think there is another read on it which is that they just kept making these decisions

based on what was happening and by that I mean you know the idea of Dalton and McKee playing

basically that whole third-precision game I'm sure that they wanted to get Colt Payton reps they

kept him on the roster they believe he's a developmental quarterback worth developing I'm sure they

wanted to give him those reps there just was no clarity about who the backup quarterback is yeah

I kind of think that's not ideal anyway and it's not yeah maybe there's no clarity still but

you know how I was asked about the four quarterbacks there were one of four teams who kept four

quarterbacks it's now three because the Vikings ended up waving one of those guys but he talked

about value he thinks that those guys have value yeah you know Tanner McKee has a has a body of work

I don't know how much value Andy Dalton has around the league at this juncture you have to separate

around the league and in the building I think he's got value in the room yeah I don't think that

they have value around the league because if if they did they probably wouldn't be a better person

I still personally think that they could have just put him on the practice squad he's getting the same

guaranteed money anyway maybe it's a prestige thing but they feel good about that and they also

feel like Colt Payton is worth keeping and developing as a quarterback long term but he's probably

not ready to play this year and so you want to have a depth chart that includes three quarterbacks

in case one of those guys has to play yeah especially if you don't feel great about your number two

which is I think all the teams are carried for on their active roster yeah I think a separate yeah

if you have four on your active roster it's a sign you don't have a backup you feel good about

and you want to have that option out yeah thank you right and I think the fact that Colt Payton made

it I do wonder if there's a little bit of self reflection from how he roseman on the Kyle McCorn

experience like you know the faction yeah they cut a guy last year they drafted the Fender guy

and then he got training for a six round picked exactly and maybe that is like a teachable moment

there for him where it is okay because it really was I mean because our viewers will know I

went down a deep rabbit hole on the Kyle McCorn compared to Colt Payton experiences and they were

drafted three spots apart into the fifth round top of the top of the sixth round and the fact that

like the the Eagles moved on from him you know put him through the practice squad and then obviously

he chose to go to Green Bay the fact that a year later he's going for a six round pick I think

that probably reinforces what we've always said about the day three quarterbacks which is you

draft them with a long view in the in the first place you don't draft them hoping that they are

gangbusters their first training camp it's a long view that you have to take and I think they tried

to do that with Kyle McCorn on the practice squad I think they did learn their lesson with Colt Payton

this year yeah I think what you are hoping for with the day three quarterback is that they become

a rookie contract number two yeah like the last two years of their rookie contract essentially

yeah make sense all right what's your last takeaway um my last takeaway we didn't really talk about

Elijah Moore yeah um but yeah I think that him talking about Elijah Moore just deserving to be on

the 53 man roster I think that that's that's uh that's one that stands out I don't really have I

mean you had him on I didn't really have a too much exception with him being on um

he's apparent his way on he is one of the the few vested veterans that made it on at the expensive

some guys who got exposed but yeah I think it makes sense and a little bit of a surprise

of how he didn't make any trades this summer yeah yeah I was gonna say the uh the lack of trades he

kind of alluded to the fact that like you know you tried chasing some action yeah you want it to be

he's like I just get it just get it get one of the trades and uh but yeah you know kind of

alluded to the fact that nothing really made enough sense for them to pull the trigger on it

my last thing is is actually I thought maybe the most interesting thing how he said because it was

something he offered himself and he was he was asked about the offensive line backup yeah this was

you know guys like Drew Kendall and Willie Lampian and Micah Morris made the team Mark L Bell Fred

Johnson and he said you know if I had been honest at the start of training camp the thing that I

was most interested to see and maybe most worried about was the interior offensive line depth

and I think that's interesting for two reasons one is it is a departure from what we've seen in the past

there's no Brett Toath type here some old hand who you can really depend on getting through a game

with as a three position versatile player they needed to see what they had in Drew Kendall

Willie Lampian to some of us has been one of the most fun stories of the summer they think that he's

ready to play and Micah Morris looked pretty good for a six round pick but it's also of course

it makes sense that that would be one of the things that he was really truly worried about yeah

heading into the season because that's a spot where cam jurgens is coming off a serious injury

Linda Dickerson is coming off a serious injury those guys you know went and got the the stem cell

stuff but there's no guarantee that they're going to make it through this season looking great

Linda Dickerson has been a little bit up and down the summer Tyler Steen is a free agent to be

this offseason so maybe you're also looking at this with an eye towards okay maybe Drew Kendall

can be our starting right guard next year so it makes sense that this would have been top of mind

for how I but I thought it was an interesting admission yeah it really was and I think it really

speaks to what I think is going to be one of the defining things one of the key defining things

for the season as we sort of transition into the season preview stuff regular season preview stuff

I think this run game is going to be really good and I think that the interior line depth is part

of why I feel good about it because you're right cam jurgens look really good this summer

land and dickerson by the end of camp I felt like it looked like he was ready for the end of camp

if they had to lean on Drew Kendall for a handful of games I feel good about that you know that

I feel good about Drew Kendall as a depth option for them so yeah I think it is telling that

that's where his mind is at too is like how's this run game going to look because I think you feel

really good about the defense and you probably know the past game's going to be a work in progress

all right Eagles 53 man roster is set and now we start thinking about the season opener man

which is 13 days away we'll talk about all of that and the expectations coming up on the

pho y Eagles show every weekday at two o'clock