Eagles veterans who are not safe after the 2024 NFL Draft

It’s inevitable. A roster this stacked will have to make tough decisions, and that means even some of the veterans aren’t assured of anything.

Place the best team on the field possible. That’s the goal of every NFL franchise. Some teams are better than this than others. The Philadelphia Eagles are fortunately owned by Jeffrey Lurie. They employ Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman. That’s quite the bright side when you think you could have been born in Charlotte and grew up as a Panthers fan.

‘HowieSZN’ hashtags are again commonplace on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. No one stacks his team better than good ol’ Howie. It’s been great watching this offseason after having to deal with the heartbreak of last season’s collapse.

Philly did work during free agency. They did work in the 2024 NFL Draft (and shortly afterward with the acquisition of a handful of UDFAs). This is a stacked roster. There’s just one problem. Philly can’t hang on to everyone.

Here are a couple handful of Eagles who have to be sweating after the 2024 NFL Draft.

Every NFL team is allowed to carry 90 prospects for the duration of camp. The depth chart can change several times but needs to eventually be trimmed to 53 players and a 16-man practice squad. It’s inevitable. Familiar faces and good players will be shown the door.

Some of those players will be established veterans. It’s only May. Things can change, but we may be able to identify some of the guys on the hot seat.

James Bradberry & Zech McPhearson, cornerbacks

There’s regression, and then, there’s what happened to James Bradberry duing the 2023 NFL season. That needs its own word. Rather than watch another 17 games of what he put on tape last season, Philly may want to talk about whether or not he needs to be a post-June 1st cut candidate.

That would prevent Philly from having to swallow all of that $15 million dead cap hit all at once.

Zech McPhearson, just last season, was expected to be Philly’s backup slot corner, but a preseason injury ended all chances of that happening. The NFL lifted Isaiah Rodgers’ suspension and added Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in the most recent draft which frankly increases the difficulty Zech will see in making this 2024 roster.

Tarron Jackson & Patrick Johnson, EDGE

Tarron Jackson and Patrick Johnson both have talent, but every NFL franchise has a depth chart. Every depth chart represents a numbers game. Ahead of both of these guys in the pecking order are Bryce Huff, Josh Sweat, Nolan Smith, and Brandon Graham, and some might even state the chances are high that Philly will prioritize keeping Jalyx Hunt, a 2024 third-rounder.

That isn’t to say Jackson and Johnson can’t make the roster, but they’re on the bubble seemingly every summer. Not only that, this time around appears to be the most challenging climb that both will have to make.

Le’Raven Clark & Brett Toth, offensive line

Simply put, Le’Raven Clark and Brett Toth have the respect of Jeff Stoutland. Both are proven commodities albeit reserves who deserve to be on an NFL roster. The questions are about whether or not that roster’s Philly’s.

Tyler Steen was drafted in 2023. Matt Hennessy was acquired in March. Trevor Keegan and Dylan McMahon were drafted in April, and Philly also added two UDFAs right after the selection meeting (Anim Dankwah and Gottlieb Ayedze). Oh, and, let’s not forget about the signing of Mekhi Becton.

DeVante Parker and Parris Campbell, wide receivers

Suddenly, it feels like it’s a ‘one or the other scenario’ with these two. Philly might keep DeVante Parker or Parris Campbell, but it doesn’t feel like there is room to keep both, right?

Maybe Parker has the slight edge. Maybe he doesn’t. Who knows? What we do know is this. A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith aren’t going anywhere and Ainias Smith and Johnny Taylor were just drafted.

Let’s say Philly keeps six wideouts on the 53-man roster. Parker and Campbell will compete with Britain Covey, Austin Watkins, Joseph Ngata, Jacob Harris, and Shaquan Davis for two roster spots. That battle at wide receiver will be an intriguing one as always.

Albert Okwuegbunam & Grant Calcaterra, tight end

Yeah… Philly signed Albert Okwuegbunam to that one-year extension. Sure, Grant Calcaterra isn’t eligible for free agency until 2026, but let’s be honest here. Philly isn’t getting much out of either one of them.

C.J. Uzomah is a Bird now. Philly added a talented UDFA who can provide what Albert O. and Grant haven’t, a guy that can make plays with the ball in his hands after the catch.

Castles could outshine both in training camp and the preseason. That’s a promise. Will Philly keep three tight ends or four? That’s a big question. In the meantime, mull this over.

Okwuegbunam and Calcaterra can both make the roster. Both could be left off the roster. One or the other could make the roster. All three of the scenarios are all realistic.