Eagles Roster: 7 'Job Openings' to Watch At Training Camp

Preseason games are meaningless, right?

Maybe to season ticket holders and veterans, but to young players and a handful of older guys trying to latch on somewhere, they are everything.

The Philadelphia Eagles have a solid roster, but there are jobs to be won when training camp begins at the end of July and when the team's three preseason games come along in August.

The first preseason game comes on the road against the Baltimore Ravens on Aug. 12. The Eagles will then have back-to-back weeks where they will host joint practices with the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts leading up to their preseason meetings with both teams on Aug. 17 and Aug. 24, respectively.

With that said, here are some players whose jobs could come down to six weeks of summer and three exhibition games:

TREY SERMON

The running back missed last summer with the Eagles because he wasn't claimed until Sept. 1 after the San Francisco 49ers gave up on their third-round pick from 2021 and cut him.

He played eight offensive snaps, ran twice, and gained 19 yards.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni indicated Sermon would be given plenty of opportunities this summer.

D’Andre Swift, Rashaad Penny, and Kenny Gainwell are roster locks, so the math would have to favor him, with the Eagles keeping four running backs. Not only that, but he would have to probably beat out veteran Boston Scott for that fourth spot.

IAN BOOK VS. TANNER MCKEE

Another reclamation project who the Eagles added on Aug. 31 after the former fourth-round pick from Notre Dame by the New Orleans Saints. That gives Book an advantage – if ever so slight – of being the gameday emergency quarterback behind Jalen Hurts and Marcus Mariota.

Book and McKee, a sixth-round pick in April out of Stanford, couldn’t be any more different in terms of their skill sets.

Book is 6-foot, 206 pounds with some mobility while McKee is a 6-6, 231-pound pocket passer who isn’t known for his mobility. Ten years ago, though, his traits would have possibly made him a Day 1 or Day 2 pick.

The game has evolved, and pocket passers aren’t as valued as they once were, so McKee is going to have to see if he can adjust inside the Eagles’ offense.

GRANT CALCATERRA

It probably wasn’t a good sign that the Eagles signed veteran Dan Arnold, who can block and be a weapon in the passing game if needed. A sixth-round pick last year, Calcaterra has to show he can run block and get open on a consistent basis.

Otherwise, he can find himself on the practice squad with the roster filled out by Dallas Goedert, Jack Stoll, and Arnold.

OFFENSIVE LINE

The Eagles have had some attrition here, so there could be one or two openings. Keep an eye on fifth-year pros Fred Johnson (tackle) and fifth-year center guard Cameron Tom. There is plenty of youth to choose from including a pair of undrafted free-agent tackles, Trevor Reid and Chim Okorafor.

If they don’t fit the bill, perhaps general manager Howie Roseman makes a move for free agent Dalton Risner.

MORO OJOMO, MARLON TUIPULOTU, TARRON JACKSON

It’s going to be easy to get lost in a defensive tackle room that is deep and talented, so Ojomo, a seventh-round rookie, will need to stand out early and quickly. Otherwise, he could find himself on the practice squad. 

What could keep him on the 53-man roster is his flexibility, with the ability to move out to the end of the line. The Eagles usually show deference to their draft picks, but there are two others who will also be fighting Ojomo for a roster spot who were also draft picks – 2021 sixth-rounders Tuipulotu and Jackson.

Tuipulotu got off to a strong start, cooled off a bit, then got hurt and was put on IR. Jackson spent the year on the practice squad.

All three could be ticketed for the practice squad unless they have big summers.

DAVION TAYLOR

The linebacker’s career has been a classic case of two steps forward and one step back. 

Just when it looks like the third-round pick from 2020 is ready to take off, he gets injured. He spent last year on the practice squad, but there is an opportunity at a thin position group. It’s now or never for the University of Colorado product.

K’VON WALLACE

Wallace has had some good moments, but it’s not a good sign that the Eagles didn’t believe in him enough to prevent them from signing not one, but two free-agent safeties, Terrell Edmunds and Justin Evans, during free agency.

It also doesn’t bode well for the former fourth-round pick from 2020 that last year’s undrafted free agent Reed Blankenship has surpassed him on the depth chart and the Eagles spent a third-round pick on Sydney Brown this past April.

Wallace could be on the outside looking in depending on how many safeties Philly keeps.

Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.

Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.

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