The Philadelphia Eagles have gotten their roster finalized for the all-important Week 15 showdown against the Las Vegas Raiders, with one move being made.
For the third straight week, the Eagles have elevated safety Andre Sam to the active roster. He has played in 19 special teams snaps in the last two games with one tackle.
Since the Eagles placed rookie safety Andrew Mukuba on IR, Sam has started to see himself on the roster for gameday as a backup safety with Sydney Brown starting the loss to the Bears in Week 13 and then Marcus Epps starting in Week 14 against the Los Angeles Chargers, also a loss.
Sam is starting to earn his time on the field
Even though he might not be on defense when they are on the field, Sam is showing what he can do on special teams, as coordinator Michael Clay calls upon him to step up. The second-year undrafted safety has answered the call and has played well.
Every call-up from the Eagles is another signal that Sam has earned the team's trust to continue playing and help out wherever he is asked. It may not be at the scale that guys like Epps and Reed Blankenship are doing at safety, but he's starting to make a different part of the team.
One thing this season has shown for the Eagles is that the next-man-up mentality has to be there at all times. Epps is currently showing it for Philly after a nice start against the Chargers despite the loss.
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Kudos to Sam for making the most of his opportunity and playing well while doing it. He might have a bigger role on the team entering the next few weeks than some Eagles fans might expect.