With the Eagles' disappointing 2011 season coming to an end, we as fans are forced to watch as the playoff teams battle it out for Super Bowl glory. To ease some of that pain, many have turned to talk about ways to improve the team for next year - notably through coaching changes and the 2012 draft.

However, I'd like to take an early look at what players could be available for the taking when free agency finally starts. The Eagles obviously made a huge splash last year by landing the likes of Nnamdi Asomugha and Jason Babin, but will this year have the same level of excitement? Let's check out the potential:

Quarterback

Andy Reid's one-year experiment with Vince Young has not worked out, so it's virtually certain that the team will be looking for a new backup quarterback this offseason. While there are several big names who are coming to the end of their contracts - like Green Bay's Matt Flynn, this year's Kevin Kolb - the best option out there for the Eagles will likely be Jason Campbell.

While adding another 30-year-old player might not immediately sound like like the Eagles' MO, Campbell has the experience, the calm demeanor and the familiarity with the NFC East to be a valuable addition to the team. He likely won't be receiving too many offers to start at this point in his career, so if the Raiders don't bring him back, Campbell should definitely warrant a look.

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Forgive me for the headline, I've got the day off and everything feels exciting today. The Eagles have announced that they've added center Zane Taylor to their practice squad today. Zane immediately takes over the role of "best name in the organization."

He's a big kid at 6-2, 309 pounds out of Utah. He was a three time all Mountain West performer there and has spent time with the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers organizations.

So take that Tampa Bay. You might have taken DTN from us, but we've got Zane now!

If you were making odds for which Eagle would get a contract extension this week, my guess is that Akeem Jordan would not have been among the favorites. However, he is the guy who got a new deal. The Eagles signed Jordan to a two year deal today after giving him a one year contract in the offseason.

And that was it. There really wasn't any further explanation, but the speculation was that it was a cap maneuver of some sort being done to free up room for a new DeSean Jackson contract. However, Jordan was only set to make a little over $500K and the team was actually benefiting from signing a "vet discount" deal where his cap figure was lower than his base salary. So I'm really not certain how this would create any real room for Jackson's new contract.

Maybe, they just see Akeem is a solid veteran that has started and done a decent job, can backup all three positions and figured that was worth locking up for an extra year?

Yesterday, the Eagles brought back five players who had been released with the final roster cuts to form their 2011 practice squad. Today, they added two more: wide receiver Ronald Johnson and tight end Anthony Hill.

The 5'11" Johnson was a sixth round choice of the 49ers, but didn't manage to earn a spot on their final roster. He brings a good amount of experience returning punts and kicks.

The Texans chose the massive 6'6" Hill with their fourth round pick in the 2009 draft. Despite remaining with the team for two seasons, Hill was only on the active roster for five games, catching a single nine-yard pass. He'll be the first player the Eagles call if either Brent Celek or Clay Harbor get bitten by the injury bug.

Look for the final spot on the Eagles' eight-man practice squad to be filled by DT Cedric Thornton, who was released yesterday to make room for OG Kyle DeVan. 

[Update by JasonB, 09/05/11 5:59 PM EDT ] It's official. Cedric Thornton is back

After the Eagles finished their roster cuts last night, they were left with only nine offensive linemen on the active roster. Now, they'll have an even ten. The team has just announced that they have claimed former Colts right guard Kyle DeVan off of waivers. To make room for him, the Eagles released undrafted rookie Cedric Thornton.

Meant as a depth signing, the 26 year old DeVan brings 21 games' worth of starting experience to the offensive line. He and Howard Mudd were together in Indianapolis during the 2009 season, so DeVan's familiarity with Mudd's schemes will certainly help.

According to CSNPhilly's Reuben Frank, the Eagles have brought back three players who they released yesterday to join their 2011 practice squad.

WR/RB/PR Chad Hall makes his second annual appearance on the PS after spending eight games on the active roster last season. He just barely makes the eligibility cut. Although Hall demonstrated during the preseason that he was a shaky option at punt returner, look for the Eagles to call him back to active duty at the first sign of trouble with their wide receiver corps.

LB Greg Lloyd and FB Stanley Havili, both 2011 seventh round picks, were the only two draft acquisitions who didn't make the Eagles roster. It comes as little surprise that they were both given a second shot by the front office.

[Update by Bob_Q, 09/03/11 3:20 PM EDT ] OL Dallas Reynolds will be the fourth former Eagle to make this year's practice squad. After joining the team in 2009 as an undrafted rookie, Reynolds has spent the last two seasons on the PS. The Eagles now have only four more spots to fill.

[Update by Bob_Q, 09/03/11 3:30 PM EDT ] DE Daniel Te'o-Nesheim has also been added to the practice squad. The Eagles now have only three more spots to fill. Look for the newly released Cedric Thornton to be one of the signees.

The Eagles must slim their roster down to 53 players by 6:00 p.m. this Saturday, so there are many difficult decisions on the horizon for the front office.

BGN will be updating our annual roster cuts tracker as the information comes in, so make sure to check back often. Here are the players who've gotten the axe so far:

In addition, OT Jose Acuna has been placed on the Reserve/Left Squad list.

[Update by JasonB, 09/02/11 6:50 PM EDT ] Brandon Graham and Winston Justice have been placed on the PUP list and will be unavailable for the first six weeks of the season.

Notes and thoughts after the jump...

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The Eagles pulled off a surprise today reportedly agreeing to a one year deal with former Giants Pro Bowl WR Steve Smith. Smith had a spectacular 2009 season catching 107 passes for over 1200 yards and was having another big year in 2010 until he had a nasty injury which required microfracture surgery in December.

"Like I've said many times before, Howie Roseman and I are always keeping our eyes open for good football players and players that we think can help our football team win," said head coach Andy Reid. "And Steve Smith certainly fits that category. He's a Pro Bowl quality receiver that we will work into our offense as soon as he is ready to go. We feel very good about our current group of receivers and Steve adds another dimension to that position. He's played very well against us in the past few years and we're happy to have him on board."

According to Ruben Frank, Smith may go on the PUP list as the Eagles believe he may not be ready to play until midseason. It's an interesting move that will probably burn Giants fans pretty bad, but will it actually help the Eagles this year? That really depends on how healthy Smith is. If it's true that he won't play until midseason, obviously his impact will only be possible later in the year... but if he's anything close to the player he was before the injury, that could be a major impact. Smith is an excellent route runner with great hands that was Eli Manning's favorite target.

Smith was expected to return to the Giants and met with them this week, but he either didn't like what they were offering or they didn't like his medical condition. People will call this a "low risk/high reward" signing for the Eagles and it certainly has the potential to be... Although that said, it remains to be seen just how "high reward" a WR coming off major knee surgery that may only be available for a half year could actually be.

It's worth noting that Smith was one of the many Giants that took exception to LeSean McCoy's "overrated n soft" comment during the offseason, although he was by far the most tame.

"Eagles have a great team as do we," Smith tweeted. "They've had our number lately but until you win something major I don't wanna hear it."

"We" is now "them."