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The Jaguars announced today that they waived former Eagles OLB Chris McCoy.
Eagles fans were mildly shocked when the team released preseason/training camp standout McCoy in order to cut down the roster to 53. The surprise was reasonable. McCoy genuinely did have an impressive summer. It seemed like he was a lock to make the roster.
But obviously Chip Kelly and the Eagles did not feel the same way. They felt it was more important to keep players who excelled on special teams. This is why Najee Goode was added and Casey Matthews was kept.
There was a special dislike that Matthews was kept over McCoy and Emmanuel Acho, who is now on the Giants practice squad. Now, Matthews is the only player out of those three on an active NFL roster.
My goal here is not to say McCoy and Acho are bad players, or that Matthews is a great one. Acho has potential and McCoy could find a spot on another NFL roster or practice squad. Maybe the Eagles will even have interest in bringing him back, although I doubt it. Matthews may never be more than a backup, but he does offer good special teams performance. That makes him a valuable player to Chip Kelly.
Three takeaways from this situation: 1) preseason/training camp performances need to be put in context. 2) Special teams matter! and 3) we aren't professional scouts.