Eagles promote Robert Davis from practice squad, put Alshon Jeffery on injured reserve

The Philadelphia Eagles placed Alshon Jeffery on injured reserve and promoted practice squad wide receiver Robert Davis to the 53-man roster, according to an official announcement from the team. The Eagles also signed wide receiver Deontay Burnett to their practice squad.

Jeffery going on IR was a foregone conclusion with the news that he suffered a season-ending foot injury in the Eagles’ Week 14 game against the New York Giants. One must wonder if he’s ever going to play for the Eagles again.

Promoting Davis gives the Eagles a third healthy receiver on the roster in addition to JJ Arcega-Whiteside and Greg Ward. Nelson Agholor’s presence makes four receivers on the team but it’s unclear if he’ll play this week after he missed practice on Wednesday.

The Eagles originally signed Davis to their practice squad back in early October. Here’s what we wrote about him at the time:

Davis, 24, originally entered the league as a sixth-round pick by Washington in the 2017 NFL Draft. The 6-3, 210 pound pass catcher was waived in final cuts as a rookie. He spent time on Washington’s practice squad before being called up to the 53-man roster late in the 2017 season.

Davis had his 2018 campaign end before it began after suffering a serious season-ending leg injury. Davis made his case for a roster spot in 2019 with three preseason receptions for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Washington cut him, however, and put him on the practice squad before calling him back up a week later. Davis had one reception for 11 yards against the Giants in Week 4 before being cut by Washington last week.

That Davis has shown some potential makes himself a reasonable practice squad addition. Perhaps he’s worth developing and Washington, which isn’t a very good/smart franchise, gave up on him too soon.

The Eagles sure wouldn’t mind seeing Davis have a revenge game this weekend against his former team. It’s unclear how big of a role Davis will have but, given the barren state of the Eagles’ receiving corps, he figures to get some kind of playing time.

Davis does boost an intriguing athletic profile:

As for the Burnett signing, he joins Marken Michel and Marcus Green as the other two receivers on the Eagles’ practice squad.

Burnett signed with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted rookie free agent following the 2018 NFL Draft. The Titans waived him in final cuts and he ended up with the New York Jets, where he actually logged 10 receptions for 143 yards. Burnett most recently spent time on the San Francisco 49ers’ practice squad before being released earlier this week. Now the 6-0, 186 pound pass catcher is in Philly. Here’s a video of him making multiple catches that look, like, way better than what any Eagles receiver has done this year:

The Eagles could consider promoting another one of their practice squad receivers (Michel) if Agholor can’t play against Washington. Otherwise they’ll be entering this Sunday’s game in Washington with Arcega-Whiteside, Ward, Davis, and Joshua Perkins (third string tight end/receiver combo) as their primary receivers.

Current Eagles practice squad

WR Deontay Burnett

DT Albert Huggins

WR Marken Michel

CB Tremon Smith

TE Scott Orndoff

DT Bruce Hector

C Keegan Render

RB De’Angelo Henderson

QB Kyle Lauletta

WR Marcus Green