Eagles sign veteran defensive tackle, make other roster moves

SECOND UPDATE: The Eagles officially confirmed their reported roster moves. They still have one open roster spot after signing Akeem Spence.

FIRST UPDATE: As I was writing this story, the Eagles reportedly signed Akeem Spence to a one-year contract.

The 27-year-old has logged 179 tackles, 10.5 sacks, and one forced fumble since entering the league as a fourth-round pick (No. 100 overall) in 2013. Spence most recently started 16 games for the Dolphins in 2018, where he played under former Miami defensive coordinator and current Eagles defensive special assistant Matt Burke. Spence gives the Eagles a fourth defensive tackle behind Fletcher Cox, Timmy Jernigan, and Hassan Ridgeway.

ORIGINAL STORY BELOW.

The Philadelphia Eagles opened up two roster spots on Tuesday by 1) officially placing Malik Jackson on injured reserve and 2) waiving tight end Alex Ellis. The team has yet to officially announce these moves but they appeared on the NFL’s transaction wire.

Jackson to IR was an obvious decision since he’s reportedly out for the season with a Lisfranc injury.

The Eagles only promoted Ellis from their practice squad to the 53-man roster last week. The third string tight end played 22 special teams snaps — second most on the roster — and two offensive snaps. It’s entirely possible the Eagles sign Ellis back to their practice squad, assuming he clears waivers.

So, what are the Eagles going to do with their two open spots? Promoting Bruce Hector from the practice squad is an option with Jackson injured.

The Eagles might opt for bringing in a more experienced defensive tackle. The team reportedly worked out Akeem Spence, according to Field Yates. Spence has logged 57 starts in 88 career games played.

The Eagles also reportedly worked out veteran linebacker Paul Worrilow, which is weird for a number of reasons. Philly already has six linebackers on their roster and they released Worrilow back in August. Worrilow then signed with the Ravens and retired from the NFL just one day later. But I suppose he’s not truly retired if he’s working out for the Eagles. Maybe the Eagles plan to cut L.J. Fort — who played 18 special teams snaps and zero defensive snaps in Week 1 — and replace him with Worrilow in order to not lose a 2020 fourth-round compensatory pick?

Orlando Scandrick is another player worth watching. It was previously reported the Eagles might try to bring him back after Week 1 so his 2019 salary wouldn’t be fully guaranteed. The Eagles also worked out two free agent cornerbacks last week: Briean Boddy-Calhoun and Juston Burris.