Eagles sign practice squad tight end to 53-man roster

The Philadelphia Eagles are signing practice squad tight end Alex Ellis to their 53-man roster, according to a report from NJ.com writer and BGN alumnus Mike Kaye. UPDATE: The Eagles officially confirmed the promotion.

The Eagles had an open roster to fill after placing Cre’Von LeBlanc on injured reserve earlier this week.

Prior to promoting Ellis, the Eagles only had two tight ends on the 53: Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert. Doug Pederson suggested Andre Dillard could get some playing time as a blocking tight end, which is still possible, but the Eagles decided to add more depth at the position. Keeping three tight ends makes sense for a team that plans to run a lot of 12 personnel packages.

It’s a little interesting the Eagles decided to promote Ellis over Joshua Perkins. Perkins has been with the team longer and he was seemingly ahead of Ellis on the depth chart in practices and preseason games. But Ellis was the more impressive player when it came to both offense and special teams.

The Eagles only signed Ellis — a Delmar, Delaware native — back on August 2, so he’s quickly worked his way into the team’s good graces.

Ellis wore No. 48 with the Eagles in the preseason but he’ll now be wearing the No. 85 jersey.

The Eagles signing Ellis to the active roster means the team now has an open spot on the practice squad.

Current Eagles practice squad

QB Kyle Lauletta

RB Boston Scott

WR Marcus Green

WR Greg Ward

TE Joshua Perkins

OG Sua Opeta

DT Bruce Hector

LB Alex Singleton

CB Craig James

[Vacant spot]