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The Eagles announced a flurry of roster moves Saturday.
Cornerbacks Zech McPhearson and Greedy Williams and wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland were released. McPhearson and Cleveland were waived with injury designations.
Williams, who signed a one-year contract in March, was expected to compete for a backup role after spending three seasons with the Cleveland Browns.
McPhearson, a special teams player, suffered a torn ACL in the Eagles’ 18-18 preseason tie with the Browns Thursday night. In the same game, Cleveland was carted off the field after going down with head and neck injuries. According to an ESPN.com report, the move to waive Cleveland is procedural as the team expects him to go unclaimed and revert to its injury list.
The Eagles also waived defensive tackle Noah Elliss with an injury designation and parted ways with rookie punter Ty Zentner, who was competing with Arryn Siposs for the No. 1 job.
In other moves the Eagles signed defensive tackles Robert Cooper, Marvin Wilson and Caleb Sanders, as well as linebackers Tyreek Maddox-Williams and Quinton Bell. Wilson spent most of the 2022 season on the team’s practice squad and Maddox-Williams is a local player who attended Rutgers and Timber Creek Regional High School in Gloucester Township, N.J.
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As veteran Marcus Mariota continues to draw criticism for his inadequate performances, more attention is being paid to rookie quarterback Tanner McKee, a sixth rounder out of Stanford.
McKee has impressed in preseason action, completing 10 of 17 passing attempts for 147 yards and a touchdown in the Eagles’ tie with the Browns.
“With Tanner, I think the biggest thing with him is obviously he’s extremely smart, he’s poised, he has a very natural feel,” offensive coordinator Brian Johnson said in a media availability Saturday. “The one thing I think in particular with his game is he has really, really clean eyes. He plays with his eyes out in front. He just has a great feeling and sense of timing and anticipation.”
Johnson reiterated what head coach Nick Sirriani said Thursday: Mariota is the backup to Jalen Hurts and that is unlikely to change before the team’s season opener at New England Sept. 10.
“I think this entire process of training camp, figuring out how to put certain pieces together, what guys like, what they don’t like, what they do well, what we need to continue to improve, I think that’s all part of the process of training camp,” Johnson said. “It’s exciting when you get guys that have unique skillsets and you come out and you get a chance to try and do some different things and look at some different options of how guys operate and get going.
“He’s done a good job of acclimating to our system. And the language of our system, and like I said, we’ve been pleased with his development to this point.”
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All-Pro offensive tackle Lane Johnson heaped praise on defensive tackle Jalen Carter, the No. 9 overall pick in the 2023 draft.
“He’s very strong and he’s very quick, lateral quickness. He’s made a lot of people look silly in camp so far,” Johnson said. “He has tremendous talent, ability, and he plays hard every down.”
Johnson noted that Carter reminds him a little bit of former Eagles defensive tackle Javon Hargrove and a bigger version of eight-time Pro Bowler Geno Atkins of the Cincinnati Bengals.
“I think Jalen Carter’s going to make a lot of noise this year, I really do,” Johnson said. “I think he can play right now and play at a very high level right now. So, I’m confident in him.”
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