Eagles sign linebacker to practice squad; former Philadelphia draft pick works out for Jets

The Philadelphia Eagles signed free agent linebacker B.J. Bello to their practice squad on Tuesday morning, according to an official announcement from the team. The Eagles had a vacancy after promoting Tre Sullivan to the 53-man roster prior to last week’s game.

Bello, whose full first name is Amin Babajide, measures in at 6-2, 229 pounds. The 23-year-old originally entered the league in 2017 as an undrafted free agent out of both Illinois and Illinois State.

Bello spent his rookie season on the Browns’ roster. He finished third on the team in special teams tackles.

Here’s what our associates over at Dawgs By Nature wrote about Bello back in July.

B.J. Bello was another young player who cracked the roster in 2017 for a depth role. He played in all 16 games, but was primarily on special teams and saw very few snaps defensively. He finished the year with 6 tackles.

Bello faces an uphill battle to make the roster, already buried at seventh on our preview list due to two new additions in the offseason. His best shot at making the 53-man roster will be if a player in front of him gets hurt, or if he really makes a strong impression on special teams. Last October, an article was published on Bello, highlighting his background. He, like many undrafted players, chose to sign with Cleveland because he felt it was his best chance at making a roster at the time.

The Browns waived Bello during final cuts this year. He then landed with the Cardinals where he spent two weeks on Arizona’s practice squad before being released again.

The Eagles are bringing in Bello to give them some more depth on special teams and at linebacker. This move makes sense with Nathan Gerry and D.J. Alexander both missing last week’s Eagles game against the Giants.

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Here’s an updated look at the Eagles’ practice squad:

LB B.J. Bello

DT Bruce Hector

LB Kyle Wilson

OL Josh Andrews

TE Billy Brown

LB Asantay Brown

WR Braxton Miller

WR Dorren Miller

DE Joe Ostman

CB Chandon Sullivan

In other news, Eagles 2017 fourth-round pick Donnel Pumphrey caused some to believe he might be returning to Philly with this tweet:

But it turns out that’s not the case.

Instead, Pumphrey is reportedly working out for the New York Jets.

(Related reading: Eagles now feeling the impact of the Donnel Pumphrey mistake)

Lastly, former Eagles quarterback Joe Callahan worked out for the New York Giants on Monday. There’s your Eli Manning replacement.