Eagles 53-man roster 2.0: Where things stand for Willie Lampkin, Joshua Weru a week ahead of cut-down day

With cut-down day less than a week away, the Eagles‘ 53-man roster is starting to come into better focus.

Here’s my second iteration predicting which players will be on the initial roster and who will miss the cut:

No movement at the quarterback spot since I did this exercise 10 days ago. Since then, Andy Dalton has turned in two shaky preseason performances. That should’t hold too much weight against Dalton’s 15 years of NFL experience, but he hasn’t run away with the opportunity the Eagles have given him to take the backup quarterback job from Tanner McKee over the last several months in general.

If the Eagles can get something for either McKee or Dalton, that would likely be more of the deciding factor than what we’ve seen on the field this summer. If McKee is the one who is dealt, though, Dalton would represent a notable dip in quality at the No. 2 quarterback spot for an organization that often harps on the value of having a trustworthy backup.

Carson Steele’s impressive showing against the New England Patriots opens up the possibility that he could be a surprise inclusion on the 53-man roster, especially if Sean Mannion does have plans to eventually implement a fullback into his newly installed scheme. (It’s not something we’ve seen yet, but that doesn’t mean it won’t eventually become part of the plan.)

My thinking with Steele is there’s probably not room on the roster for both him and a fourth tight end. More on that in a moment …

Hollywood Brown didn’t dress for the Eagles’ second preseason game, which could have been an indication that his roster spot is safe, or that the Eagles have seen enough from him throughout his career to feel the extra snaps were unnecessary. Either way, I think he’s done just enough to dissuade the team from taking a needless cap hit by releasing him. If he had a trade market, it wouldn’t shock me to see Howie Roseman move him, though.

Elijah Moore has made a compelling case to be on the 53, but being a vested veteran who has already spent time on a practice squad makes it an unfair fight for him. He could very well be a gameday call-up from the practice squad in Week 1, though.

Also for the practice squad, Erik Ezukanma and Samouri Toure have both had some bright moments in the summer and could earn a role. I went with Ezukanma because of his special teams versatility.

The fourth tight end — if the Eagles keep that many — is one of the hardest to predict a week away from cut-down day.

My best guess is the fourth isn’t on the roster right now, but if the Eagles are choosing from the crop that have gone through camp, Cam Latu makes the most sense for a couple reasons:

• He’s at least as good as any of the other options for the third tight end role on gameday serving as an inline blocker
• He’s got much more special teams value than EJ Jenkins, Grant Calcaterra, or Stone Smartt
• He’s got the versatility to play fullback if Mannion eventually wants to utilize one

With all that said, Latu has had the type of good-not-great camp that could leave the Eagles comfortable trying to stash him on the practice squad if a trade for a more proven inline-blocking tight end presents itself to them in the next week.

Fred Johnson was the player I struggled with most 10 days ago and, as camp winds down, it’s getting easier to see the Eagles feeling comfortable keeping him off. Markel Bell has looked capable of being the first tackle off the bench for the team as a rookie and Johnson, by comparison, has had a shaky training camp in a system that doesn’t seem to suit him. He’s been available in free agency two straight offseasons and was available via trade last summer as well without a robust market, so it would make sense for him to land on the practice squad.

But if Johnson isn’t on, could the Eagles really go this light at offensive line? Jake Majors has been one of the biggest improvers in the second half of camp and could be firmly on by the time the final decision is made. Or the upside of a developmental lineman like Myles Hinton or Cameron Williams could overshadow a lackluster camp similar to the way Trevor Keegan snuck onto the 53-man roster for a short time last year.

For now, though, I’d guess the Eagles just go a little lighter than they normally do.

, Uar Bernard

I had Uar Bernard as an injured reserve stash in my last exercise, but the more I look at it the more I feel there’s some wiggle room with these final few spots to just keep him on the roster. His development in the last couple weeks has been encouraging, even if he’s going to be a gameday inactive and probably won’t be fully trusted on scout team duty during his rookie season.

Ty Robinson was one of the tougher calls 10 days ago, but he’s gotten a shot of confidence in the preseason having finally “come to life,” according to defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. He’s now firmly on the roster and is pushing to be active on gamedays.

I made the case for Joshua Weru making the roster 10 days ago, and now I’d argue he is firmly on after two encouraging preseason outings.

One of Arnold Ebiketie and AJ Epenesa could be surprise cuts, but both have had solid summers and should factor in on gamedays, especially if Jonathan Greenard continues to miss time with a pectoral injury that’s held him out of the entirety of training camp.

My case for Lawson 10 days ago was mostly projecting a standout preseason for the undrafted linebacker out of Alabama. He’s been good, but maybe not so emphatically good that the Eagles should worry about him getting claimed off waivers.

If the Eagles decide to keep five linebackers, choosing between Smael Mondon, Lawson, and Chance Campbell feels like a toss-up at this point. Roseman’s track record suggests he’ll prioritize Mondon because of his draft pedigree (plus it’s not like he’s had a bad camp).

The case for Lawson revolves around the fact that he hasn’t been exposed to waivers while Campbell has, but this is pretty tight no matter how you look at it.

Jonathan Jones is pretty squarely my 53rd player on the roster this time around. I’m not sure he’s shown quite enough for the Eagles to feel great about him being the first outside cornerback off the bench on gamedays and he’s missed enough time in training camp to put him on the bubble going into cut-down day.

Kelee Ringo is a player that could make sense to move in a trade, but Vic Fangio’s vote of confidence for the fourth-year cornerback along with his special-teams value might suggest he’s worth more to the Eagles than he would be to other team.s

I moved Michael Carter II in with the safeties this time around and obviously Cooper DeJean factors into the numbers here as well.

Maximus Pullley has had a nice training camp and preseason and it wouldn’t shock me to see him sneak onto the 53-man roster, it’s just hard to know if he’s done quite enough in the games to force the Eagles’ hand here.

If the Eagles do have an undrafted rookie like Pulley they want to get onto the roster, Underwood is the 52nd guy on the roster and could start the season on the practice squad if he clears waivers.