The BGN staff predicts the Eagles' 53-man roster and practice squad following first cuts

Week 3 of the preseason is in the books and all 32 teams in the league are just two days from playing their final game before the regular season. Two days after that final exhibition contest, those teams will have cut their rosters from 75 to 53 players. The Eagles have a few backup jobs still up for grabs and the fourth preseason game will go a big way into answering several of the team's depth questions. With that in mind, we at BGN figured we would take a crack at the final roster as well as the practice squad based on the performances of the Eagles' players so far this preseason.

Brandon Lee Gowton

QB: Michael Vick, Nick Foles, Matt Barkley (3)

No changes here. Michael Vick is the starter. Nick Foles is the primary backup. Barkley needs time.

RB: LeSean McCoy, Bryce Brown, Chris Polk (3)

Both Brown and Polk will get a fair share of reps behind Shady starting.

TE: Brent Celek, James Casey, Zach Ertz, Clay Harbor (4)

I'm still counting Clay Harbor as a tight end. He's the 4th guy. Casey has had a quiet preseason but Chip will use him more in the regular season.

WR: DeSean Jackson, Riley Cooper, Jason Avant, Damaris Johnson, Greg Salas, Russell Shepard (6)

No changes. Shepard has earned a spot on the roster with good special teams play and showed some ability as a receiver against the Jaguars.

OT: Jason Peters, Lane Johnson, Allen Barbe (3)

Barbe deserves a spot as a backup OT. Dennis Kelly's status is in question with a back injury. I have him going to the IR here.

OG: Evan Mathis, Todd Herremans, Danny Watkins (3)

Danny Watkins is the top backup guard.

C: Jason Kelce, Julian Vandervelde (2)

Batmandervelde has stepped up and looks like he'll be the backup at C.

DE: Fletcher Cox, Cedric Thornton, Vinny Curry, Clifton Geathers (4)

Curry has been a beast in the preseason. Big Clif Geathers makes the roster.

NT: Isaac Sopoaga, Bennie Logan, Damion Square (3)

Sopoaga is a veteran presence who will "start" but only play around 25% of the reps on defense. Bennie Logan will play meaningful reps, and Square has earned a roster camp after a good training camp/preseason.

OLB: Trent Cole, Connor Barwin, Brandon Graham, Chris McCoy (4)

The starters are obvious. McCoy is a nice depth OLB.

ILB: DeMeco Ryans, Mychael Kendricks, Casey Matthews, Emmanuel Acho, Jake Knott (5)

Ryans and Kendricks are set as starters. Matthews/Acho/Knott have all had good training camps/preseasons. One of them could be cut, but I'm keeping them all.

CB: Cary Williams, Bradley Fletcher, Brandon Boykin, Brandon Hughes, [player not on roster], Jordan Poyer (6)

The depth at CB isn't pretty. Hughes is currently injured but he could still make the team. The Eagles will likely add another body at CB via a trade or signing a player another team has cut. Poyer has had a rough camp but they keep him because of a lack of depth and they spent a 2013 draft pick on him.

S: Patrick Chung, Nate Allen, Earl Wolff, Colt Anderson (4)

Patrick Chung is a lock as a starter. Beyond that, it's not too pretty. The Eagles might add another depth body here too.

K: Alex Henery (1)
P: Donnie Jones (1)
LS: Jon Dorenbos (1)

Donnie Jones won the punter battle.

Practice Squad: QB GJ Kinne, RB Matthew Tucker, DL David King, OT Michael Bamiro, OT Matt Tobin, TE Derek Carrier, WR Jeff Maehl, OLB Travis Long (8)

Since the Eagles are only keeping 3 RBs they will keep 1 on the PS. Bamiro and Tobin give the Eagles a total of 10 OL in practice. Future Hall of Famer Derek Carrier needs more time to develop. Travis Long has earned a practice squad job and helps out with depth at OLB.

Mike Kaye

QB: Michael Vick, Nick Foles, Matt Barkley (3)

The trio is easy to figure out. I would like to see more out of Barkley in the preseason finale but Foles is clearly better.

RB: LeSean McCoy, Bryce Brown, Chris Polk, Matthew Tucker (4)

This position is simply stacked. While I think Brown and Polk will have equal opportunities to ball out behind McCoy, I also believe a fourth runner is needed because of the speed of the offense. Tucker has simply looked good and pretty much forced my hand.

TE: Brent Celek, Zach Ertz, James Casey, Clay Harbor (4)

The pass-catching potentially of this quartet is impressive. Harbor is making this team whether you like it or not. Sorry.

WR: DeSean Jackson, Riley Cooper, Jason Avant, Damaris Johnson, Greg Salas, Russell Shepard (6)

I think that much like the running back position, wide receiver needs a lot of bodies in a quick offense. Shepard is a gimmick guy, who will play a ton of special teams and Salas can serve as an understudy to Avant. He has impressed me.

OT: Jason Peters, Lane Johnson, Allen Barbre (3)

The starters are clearly Peters and Johnson, but Barbre has proven he can start. As with Brandon, I have Dennis Kelly heading to IR.

OG: Evan Mathis, Todd Herremans, Danny Watkins (3)

Watkins is cheaper on the roster than off it and still could potentially improve.

C: Jason Kelce, Julian Vandervelde (2)

I prefer Dallas Reynolds and am not really a fan of Vandervelde, but the team obviously have different opinions given the depth chart.

DE: Fletcher Cox, Cedric Thornton, Vinny Curry (3)

The defensive end group is nice and could be scary in the future.

NT: Isaac Sopoaga, Bennie Logan, Damion Square (3)

While I think Logan will get the bulk of the nose tackle reps, Sopoaga will be the first guy up in games. Logan and Square can play nose tackle and defensive end so their versatility allow for the Eagles to keep just three defensive ends.

OLB: Connor Barwin, Trent Cole, Brandon Graham, Chris McCoy (4)

Barwin and McCoy are the only guys that can cover, but like it or not, Cole and Graham are here to stay for now.

ILB: DeMeco Ryans, Mychal Kendricks, Casey Matthews, Emmanuel Acho, Jake Knott (5)

This inside linebacker group could be the running back position on defense. The starters are clearly good, but Matthews, Acho and Knott have all showed up this summer.

CB: Bradley Fletcher, Cary Williams, Brandon Boykin, [someone not on the roster], [someone not on the roster] (5)

I can't think of any reason to not bring in two more guys. I think Brandon Hughes is placed on IR, while Curtis Marsh is likely sent to the street with an injury settlement.

S: Patrick Chung, Nate Allen, Earl Wolff, {someone not on the roster], Colt Anderson (5)

This position is a mess outside of Chung (who I am not even sold on) and I think the team will add at least one veteran to the roster to take the spot of Kurt Coleman.

LS: Jon Dorenbos (1)

K: Alex Henery (1)

P: Donnie Jones

There is nothing to see here, as we know this already.

PS: OT Michael Bamiro, WR Jeff Maehl, OG Matt Tobin, TE/FB Emil Igwenagu, QB G.J. Kinne, DE Joe Kruger, DE David King, CB Jordan Poyer (8)

It is simple really, three of these guys were draft picks (King, Poyer, Kruger), one was a trade compensation (Maehl), and another was a priority rookie free agent signing (Bamiro). The other two (Iggy and Tobin) are versatile and have shown flashes this summer. Feel free to move on to the comment section to rip Brandon and my picks.

You can follow Mike on Twitter at @mike_e_kaye and Brandon at @BrandonLeeSBN.