Surprising move by Philadelphia Eagles might turn out to be genius

Something the Philadelphia Eagles did recently might turn out to be genius.

The final days of cuts can seem like it goes on forever. It’s an emotional day. At least it has been for Philadelphia Eagles fans, and if it feels that way for fans and the media, how do you think it feels for the guys who we look at as being ‘bubble’ players, those guys riding the thin line between barely making the team or being left off of the roster?

September 3rd came and right around 4:51 p.m. EST, roughly 47 hours before every NFL team’s deadline to announce its active 53-man roster ahead of the season, Philly announced their decision on 13 players. 12 had been waived. One had been added to the team’s IR (injured reserve). Three of the immediate thoughts were ‘Why did this team cut three running backs? Don’t they only have three left now?’, ‘Wait, Grayland Arnold was cut?’, and ‘Did they have to make a move this early?’.

On Friday, again at about that 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. EST range, the fates of five more ‘Birds’ was officially announced, but most of us couldn’t stop thinking about those early cuts. Why were they released so easily? Then, it hit us. Wait! Is this part of some amazingly brilliant strategy?

Here’s something Philadelphia Eagles fans may have missed the first go-around.

Philly took a chance on letting some of their talented young guys hit the waiver wire early, but here’s the thing. Most teams aren’t in a position to claim unknown talent when they’re still trying to trim their roster down to 53 guys themselves.

In other words, while most of the NFL was trying to determine who their sixth cornerback or fourth-string running back was, as NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Dave Zangaro put it, ‘all 12 players the Eagles waived on Thursday, including Deontay Burnett, cleared waivers and became free agents. Now, that could be seen as a gamble. As those guys are now free to sign anywhere, but their availability means that they could return to the ‘City of Brotherly Love’ as members of the practice squad.

So with that being said, might we call this being ahead of the curve, or is this a huge gamble taken by the ‘Birds’ that could lead to them losing a player or two that they had every intention of keeping? One thing is certain. It’s one heck of a talking piece and proof that this team is thinking.

Keep in mind the fact that former Eagles tight end Richard Rodgers was cut by the Washington Football Team on Saturday. He’s an interesting prospect that could intrigue a team looking for a third tight end if they are indeed looking. They may only keep two like they did a season ago.