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Eagles sign 9 practice squad players to futures contracts, including Ed Reynolds

The Eagles are bringing back most of their practice squad players for the offseason.

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

The Eagles announced they have signed nine of their 10 practice squad members to futures contracts. Those players are as follows:

Name Position Height Weight Age Experience
Josh Andrews G/C 6-2 311 23 R
Kenjon Barner RB 5-9 185 25 2
Kevin Graf T 6-6 309 23 R
Wade Keliikipi DT 6-2 303 23 R
G.J. Kinne QB 6-2 234 26 1
Will Murphy WR 6-2 200 24 1
Quron Pratt WR 5-11 195 23 R
Ed Reynolds II S 6-1 207 23 R
Matthew Tucker RB 6-1 227 23 2

Note that the Eagles did not opt to sign practice squad linebacker Brandon Hepburn.

Players signed to futures contracts typically aren't ever big contributors, but they're not without value. Consider that Emmanuel Acho, Brandon Bair and David Molk were all signed to futures contracts following the 2013 season. All three players contributed during the 2014 season.

A quick breakdown on each player:

Josh Andrews - Joined the team as an undrafted rookie free agent following the 2014 NFL Draft. Served as the team's third string center in the offseason behind Jason Kelce and David Molk due to Julian Vandervelde's back injury.

Kenjon Barner - The Eagles traded for Barner, a former Oregon Ducks player, during the offseason. They sent a conditional seventh round pick to the Carolina Panthers, but the condition was not met so the Eagles will keep the pick.

Kevin Graf - Joined the team as an undrafted rookie free agent following the 2014 NFL Draft. Spent a few games on the active roster early in the season due to offensive line injuries, but was never active.

Wade Keliikipi - Joined the team as an undrafted rookie free agent following the 2014 NFL Draft. Served as the third string nose tackle behind Bennie Logan and Beau Allen in the offseason. Former Oregon Ducks player.

G.J. Kinne - The best.

Will Murphy - Originally signed with the team in 2013 as an undrafted free agent. Former Oregon Ducks player. Just a practice player.

Quron Pratt - Joined the team as an undrafted rookie free agent following the 2014 NFL Draft. Local Rutgers product. Showed some promise in training camp and the preseason. Could fight for a roster spot in 2015.

Ed Reynolds II - Drafted by the Eagles at pick No. 162 in the 2014 NFL Draft. Arrived late to the team's offseason training program due to Stanford's graduation rules. Will have a shot to earn a roster spot in 2015.

Matthew Tucker - Originally signed with the team in 2013 as an undrafted free agent. Spent most of the 2013 season on the roster but was rarely active. Dealt with some injuries in the 2014 summer but also showed some promise.

...

Note that the NFL roster limit expands to 90 in the offseason. For a more detailed explanation on what a futures contract is, see this explanation. (Source)

Basically, when a player is signed to "reserve/futures" contracts means they are being signed for the upcoming  season even though that season does not officially begin until the official start of the league’s new year as outlined by the NFL. Only players who were not on any NFL team’s active roster when the previous season ended are eligible for these types of contracts. If they were under contract, then they would remain so until the league’s new year starts. Players who were on practice squads at the end of the season are eligible to sign with any team. Hence the reason that you see many practice squad players being signed by their current team for the upcoming year to a reserve/futures contract. That way the team can continue to work with a player they’re familiar with and hopefully get them ready for an eventual roster spot on game day.

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