The Philadelphia Eagles have until tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. to cut their roster down from 75 players to 53 players.
The Eagles began deducting their roster this morning, starting with the release of seventh round draft pick Brian Mihalik.
Mihalik, standing at 6'9" and 280 pounds, was originally drafted out of Boston College as a defensive lineman. There are reports that he will rejoin to Eagles as a member of the practice squad and begin to make a transition to offensive tackle.
Joining Mihalik as a possible member of the Eagles practice squad is wide receiver Rasheed Bailey. Bailey, a Division III prospect out of Deleware Valley, really impressed coaches this preseason. However, he was cut from the roster due to the amount of depth that the Eagles already have on the roster.
Fellow wide receiver Quron Pratt was also released. Pratt, who went undrafted out of Rutgers University, was signed by the Eagles in 2014. He spent last season on the practice squad.
The Eagles released a trio of offensive lineman. John Moffitt was looking to revitalize his career in Philadelphia. The former third round draft pick of the Seattle Seahawks hasn't played a regular season snap in the NFL in two years. He was battling a drug addiction.
The Eagles also released Julian Vandervelde and Brett Boyko. Vandervelde was originally drafted by the Eagles in 2011. He then played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a season. Then he came back to the Eagles in 2012.
Boyko, like Mihalik and Bailey, is expected to be a member of the practice squad.
Defensive backs Chris Prosinski and Randall Evans have joined the group. Prosinski comes as somewhat of a surprise. He is a productive special teams player.
On the other hand, Evans, a sixth round draft pick, didn't have a great preseason. He might be a candidate for the practice squad.
Rounding out the rest of the Eagles cuts are linebacker Deotae Skinner, tight end Andrew Gleichert and punter Kip Smith. The Eagles have depth at each of those positions.
Additionally, a number of Eagles are speculated to currently be on the trading block.
Running back Kenjon Barner is rumored to be on the move. Barner has proven this preseason that he can be a reliable backup running back and bring a lot to the table in terms of what he can do in the return game on special teams. The Eagles would likely look for a draft pick in return for Barner, but maybe they can try to find a defensive back or offensive lineman.
It has also been suggested that linebacker Najee Goode is available via trade. Kiko Alonso, Mychal Kendricks and DeMeco Ryans play the same position of inside linebacker. Also, third round pick Jordan Hicks has looked good this preseason. Brad Jones can play inside and outside, which makes Goode expendable.
Lastly, the Eagles might be interested in moving quarterback Matt Barkley. The trade rumors involving Barkley are well documented.The chances that Barkley leaves the Eagles may be increased, due to the play of quarterback Tim Tebow. According to most of the statistics, Tebow may have had an overall better preseason than Barkley.
One thing is for sure, head coach Chip Kelly is trying to build the Eagles roster as best as he can.
Michael Malia is a contributing intern for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Facebook (Michael Malia) or Twitter @Michael_Malia.
