Eagles make two changes to the roster and two changes to the practice squad

The Philadelphia Eagles announced some changes to their 53-man roster and practice squad on Tuesday morning.

First, the Eagles placed injured veteran tight end Richard Rodgers on injured reserve. Rodgers suffered a knee injury during the Eagles’ second preseason game and was expected to miss significant time. Assuming he’s healthy enough, Rodgers will be eligible to return to the roster after Week 8. Keep in mind NFL teams are allowed to return two players from the IR list each season.

Still, it’s a shame that Rodgers will be missing time because he gave the Eagles good depth behind Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert. Philadelphia is now counting on Joshua Perkins to fill that third tight end role and contribute on special teams.

The Eagles filled their vacant roster spot by re-signing veteran wide receiver Markus Wheaton. Wheaton, 27, looked to be a favorite for the sixth receiver job before getting hurt (hamstring) early in the preseason and eventually losing out to DeAndre Carter. As a vested veteran, Wheaton’s contract will now be guaranteed for the entire season since he’s on the Week 1 roster.

The Eagles now have seven receivers on their 53-man roster: Alshon Jeffery, Mike Wallace, Nelson Agholor, Mack Hollins, Shelton Gibson, DeAndre Carter, and Markus Wheaton. Both Jeffery and Hollins did not practice on Monday. Jeffery is expected to be out until Week 3 (at least) while Hollins did say that he intends to play against the Falcons on Thursday, but we’ll see. The signing of Wheaton seems to indicate Hollins might not be a lock to suit up.

If Jeffery and Hollins can’t play against the Falcons, the Eagles will likely start Gibson and Wallace on the outside with Agholor lining up in the slot. Wheaton and/or Carter could get some rotational playing time.

This means that, in addition to missing their starting quarterback, the Eagles could be without two of their top four receivers on Thursday night. Not ideal.

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In practice squad news, the Eagles released undrafted rookie free agent Asantay Brown and re-signed 2016 seventh-round pick Joe Walker. Walker is a more experienced player than Brown so that helps boosts the Eagles’ depth at linebacker.

Eagles 10-man practice squad

LB Joe Walker

RB Josh Adams

TE Billy Brown

WR Rashard Davis

WR Greg Ward Jr.

C Jon Toth

DE Joe Ostman

DT Winston Craig

CB Chandon Sullivan

CB De’Vante Bausby