Eagles
Eagles Return Five From IR Ahead Of Cowboys Match-up
Penn State Great Valley MBA, Penn State Berks Undergrad, Eagle Scout and Vigil Honor, IT Service Manager. I joined Sports Talk Philly in 2017 and root for all the Philly teams (as well as their minor league counter parts).
All posts by Paul BowmanPublished31 Oct 2020
By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor 
On Monday, the Eagles lost Hassan Ridgeway and DeSean Jackson to IR.
On Friday afternoon, Genard Avery and Nate Gerry followed that pair.
Despite that, the Eagles still needed an additional roster spot for all the players that they returned Saturday.
#Eagles have elevated CB Michael Jacquet & DT Raequan Williams from the practice squad to the active roster for #DALvsPHI.
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 31, 2020
That roster spot came from the release of Hakeem Butler, who has been used on just one poorly designed play. The Eagles brought him in to teach him a new offense and a new position, but that roster spot is better served going to players that can help right now.
The team could choose to bring him back on the practice squad if they feel he has shown some progress, but they would need to open up a spot there to do so.
Taking back his place a top the tight end depth chart is Dallas Goedert, who should greatly help the Eagles’ offensive capabilities in the red zone.
Goedert’s return should also have the added efffect of taking attention away from Richard Rodgers, who has emerged as a trusted target for Wentz, as he is dropped back down to the second tight-end position.
Another pass catcher, first-round pick Jalen Reagor, will make his return to the field. The Eagles got just a small chance to see what he can do with injuries in camp as well as in the second game of the season. In parts of two games, the rookie has recorded five catches for 96 yards.
He will join a position group that features Travis Fulgham, Greg Ward, John Hightower, JJ Arcega-Whiteside and Quez Watkins, all of whom will be under 26 and are under cheap team control to continue to develop alongside Carson Wentz.
On the banged-up offensive line, Jason Peters makes his return.
It is difficult to say what impact this will have on the unit as a whole without knowing where he will play.
Lane Johnson is supposed to play once again and Jordan Mailata should be pplaying somewhere on the line, so Peters would be most beneficial slotting in at a guard position that has been the downfall of the line as a whole, but a benching of Mailata could prove to be a setback for the young tackle’s development.
On the defensive side of the ball, TJ Edwards will be returning to the linebacker position. With Nate Gerry being out, it is anyone’s guess who out of Edwards, Alex Singleton, Duke Riley or rookie Shaun Bradley will be handling the majority of snaps, but there is hope that the Eagles could manage to find themselves a young starter at the position.
Edwards earned an 86.6 grade from PFF in limited snaps last season, but doesn’t have the speed to help much in coverage, so that grade largely comes from his run-stopping abilities.
On the back end, safety Rudy Ford gives the team some insurance at the position. Where he will really help, however, is as a gunner on the special teams unit.
The Eagles get all of these boosts as they are set to face a Dallas offense that is banged up and a Dallas defense that has been the worst in the league before trading away some of their top players.
