The 6 most surprising cuts from the Eagles initial 53-man roster

Well, that was interesting! Five wide receivers... Two tight ends... Nine offensive linemen... The Philadelphia Eagles introduced a 53-man roster on Tuesday. Let's just say that it was a little light on the offensive side.

We'd like to congratulate Patrick Johnson and Ben VanSumeren. Two guys who toed the line of acceptance and release and fought their way onto the squad. Good for them, but as always there were a couple of surprises.

Sometimes, we wish we were a fly on the wall. Yep! That goes for the Eagles' coaches meetings, but we need full access to those NFLPA meetings too.

Could someone please explain why they vetoed keeping an emergency QB on the practice squad? Oh, we've heard explanations. We just don't like any of them.

The Eagles' initial 53-man roster features some notable absences.

Philly and each of the other 31 NFL franchises did as they were told. They trimmed their rosters to 53 men by Tuesday's deadline of 4 pm EST. Something tells us the current lineup could change in a few days (or maybe even in a few hours).

It will be interesting to see who clears waivers and lands on the practice squad. It will be interesting to see who the first guys out will be if something needs to be juggled because, believe us, we expect there to be some juggling.

Anyway, let's talk about some roster cuts and additions that surprise us.

Let's begin with six of the most surprising Eagles roster cuts

If you felt like some of these guys had played there way into a job, don't question your judgment. It won't be hard to find someone who agrees with you.

EJ Jenkins

Truth be told, as much as we all wanted to see EJ Jenkins make the roster and as much as our hearts told us he had won a special place in them, let's be honest. We all knew he would get a raw deal anyway, right?

EJ found a spot on our last two 53-man roster projections, and even had we known what we know now, we'd place him among the number if asked to go back in time and rewrite it, but in the end, Philly, as mentioned earlier elected to keep two tight ends.

Parris Campbell

Parris Campbell, in many ways, was the newest Eagles wide receiver who had the strongest on-field connection with Jalen Hurts. They built a chemistry. After DeVante Parker's unexpected retirement, it felt like Parris was the third guy on the depth chart.

Philly threw us another curveball (or two). Ainias Smith was placed on injured reserve. Surely that would give Campbell another leg up, right? Maybe not... Campbell and John Ross were both informed they wouldn't be carried on the 53-man roster. This us one that truly had us scratching our heads.

Dylan McMahon

A quick glance at the Eagles' roster will bring something to the forefront quickly. There is no backup center. Dylan McMahon, a 2024 Eagles draft selection seemed to have proven his mettle, but he was left off the roster while Darian Kinnard found a home.

Yeah... We're confused about that.

Brett Toth

Brett Toth is someone else who can play center if need be. You cross your fingers and hope he won't be asked to do so, but we know he knows how to do the job.

Brett's experience, familiarity with the team, and versatility made us believe he'd survive final roster cuts. He can play every position along the O-line for goodness sakes. Kinnard can't do that. Oh well... Maybe he'll be back as a scout team addition.

Oren Burks

Oren Burks and Josh Jobe could qualify as surprising cuts depending on who you talk to. We'd say they're more surprising than others, but at the same time, it's easy to explain the thinking here. We'll begin with Burks.

Injuries kept him out for a while, and even though he's a talented linebacker who is good on special teams, the same can be said about Ben VanSumeren, so we can understand the willingness to stick with the younger guy that you already know.

Josh Jobe

Like Burks, Jobe is a talented special teams player. That may have been the saving grace to keep Josh around, but the Eagles were loaded at cornerback. He just fell victim to the numbers game.

We'll see if he lands somewhere else. He's proven he belongs, but in truth, he's the eighth-best corner on a team that only intended to keep six or seven.