Deon Cain may be forcing his way onto the Eagles 53-man roster

It’s been a long time since we’ve said this. Truthfully, we’ve never said it, but the Philadelphia Eagles have a lot of depth at the wide receiver position this year. Come cut time, they will have to make some tough decisions as guys like Deon Cain are making the process of crafting the best 53-man roster possible more difficult.

Cain, a former 5-star recruit that cut his teeth at a school that knows a thing or two about churning out wideouts (Clemson), has had a tremendous camp is doing all that he can to play himself onto the regular-season roster. He’s continued his strong showing during the preseason, and that’s led to his recent and excellent performance in Week 2 versus the Browns.

The Eagles may have no choice but to keep Deon Cain if he continues to play at this level.

Deon Cain finished Sunday’s game as the Eagles’ leader in receptions with five snags on seven targets. That resulted in 66 yards as he helped Philadelphia to a 21-20 victory.

The connection he has with Gardner Minshew was on full display as he hauled in several contested catches. If he continues to perform as he did Sunday then the Eagles may have no choice but to find a spot for him on the 53-man Week 1 roster.

A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins, and Zach Pascal are all a lock to make the team. Jalen Reagor may have the upper hand for the fifth spot because he’s a former first-round selection. The two biggest questions surrounding the wide receiver position are as follows. Will the Eagles trade Reagor and if not, will they keep five or six receivers?

A case can be made that Deon Cain has outperformed Jalen Reagor this summer. The latter, now heading into his third season, is still looking to find his way in the NFL, but one has to ask if he’s capable at performing at a higher level than we’ve already seen.

We’ve heard of rumored interest, but that hasn’t led to anything or created any serious trade momentum. One thing that may be standing in Cain’s way is there are better special teams players on the roster. and it would be harder to justify keeping the sixth wideout on the roster if he has no value there. That would, more than likely mean that Cain wouldn’t see the field unless there was an injury.

As the Eagles gear up for another week of joint practices, this time with the Miami Dolphins, and their final preseason game on Saturday that would follow, Deon Cain and many of the other prospects on the roster have one more week to prove to the coaching staff that they deserve to be on this team.

Keep a close on the wide receiver competition. Things are heating up as we near the preseason’s finish line.