Not every move made in the offseason always works out as planned and it seems the Eagles are already aware of that happening with two of their moves this offseason.
The bigger deals for the leaving players are the two who were not injured: Greedy Williams and Ty Zentner.
Zentner was an UDFA who had been competing to be the teams punter. With this release before the final preseason game, it seems Arryn Siposs will return again as the team’s primary punter.
Meanwhile the signing of Greedy Williams was supposed to bring extra depth to the cornerback room. The thought was a veteran second-round pick would be an excellent backups. He was not good in the preseason games, however, and the Eagles opted to cut him now and see if he can latch on elsewhere.
Eagles have signed DT Robert Cooper, DT Marvin Wilson, DT Caleb Sanders, LB Tyreek Maddox-Williams, and LB Quinton Bell, Waived/Injured WR Tyrie Cleveland, DT Noah Elliss, CB Zech McPhearson, and released CB Greedy Williams and P Ty Zentner. pic.twitter.com/wqWfqsKMSW
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 19, 2023
Tyrie Cleveland was injured and carted off in the second preseason game. He had seemingly been pushing for a spot, but won’t get that opportunity now.
The move to waive him, as with Noah Elliss, is more of a procedural one that opens up a spot for someone else to compete. The expectation is that neither player will be claimed and they will revert back to the Eagles to continue to receive care.
McPhearson tore his Achilles on Thursday and would be out for the season anyway.
Incoming Players
Marvin Wilson is the most familiar name among the returnees. He joined the team during the 2021-22 season and debuted in the Eagles last game that year. He spent the entirety of last season on the Eagles’ practice squad but was waived early this offseason.
Robert Cooper, like Wilson, is a former Florida State defensive tackle. He struggled with injuries in his final college season and went undrafted.
He was with the Seahawks in rookie camp and they brought him back for 11 days earlier this month. Seattle moved on from him a week ago.
Caleb Sanders completes the defensive tackle trio. The former South Dakota State DT racked up 40 tackles (9.5 for loss) with 6.5 sacks in his senior season. He was in the backfield even more in 2021.
He’s got a long way to go with the change in competition, but he showed promise in college.
Linebacker Quinton Bell is the most travelled of the new additions. Drafted by the Raiders in 2019, Bell spent parts of his first season in Oakland, one and a half seasons with the Buccaneers and a season and a half with the Falcons.
He’s appeared in nine career NFL contests – five as a special teamer and four last season as a special teamer and rotational defender. He recorded three tackles (one for loss) in around 60 defensive snaps last season.
Linebacker Tyreek Maddox-Williams is an UDFA out of Rutgers. He spent his rookie season on the Chargers practice squad and was in camp with the team until about three weeks ago.
