Eagles claim tight end off waivers, place Brandon Brooks on active/PUP list

The Philadelphia Eagles officially announced two roster moves on Tuesday afternoon: 1) the team claimed tight end Caleb Wilson off waivers and 2) the team placed starting right guard Brandon Brooks on the active/physically unable to perform list.

CALEB WILSON

Wilson was waived by Washington Football Team — Philly’s Week 1 opponent (hm) — on Monday. The 24-year-old has a notable connection to the Eagles in that he’s the son of former Philadelphia defensive line coach Chris Wilson. Doug Pederson hired the senior Wilson to his original coaching staff in 2016 and he remained with the team for three seasons. Chris’s contract expired after the 2018 season and it was not renewed.

Getting back to the younger Wilson, he’s also notable for being “Mr. Irrelevant” in the 2019 NFL Draft. The Arizona Cardinals selected him with the very last pick at No. 254 overall. Wilson had six receptions for 60 yards and one touchdown in the preseason last year before the Cards decided to keep him around on their practice squad. Washington poached him away in December but he didn’t log any snaps despite being on their 53-man roster.

The Eagles four other tight ends on the roster in Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, Joshua Perkins, and undrafted rookie free agent Noah Togiai. Ertz and Goedert are obviously the top two guys but there’s potentially an opening for a third spot. Wilson will challenge Perkins and Togiai for that role.

Here’s a scouting report on him from The Draft Network:

Caleb Wilson is a low ceiling prospect for the 2019 NFL Draft, given some shaky hands and a less than ideal set of athletic tools. Wilson is pretty savvy against zone coverage and can be a piece to sit down vs. zone coverage to keep the chains moving, but he’s not going to run away from NFL defenders in the slot and struggles with accelerating into open space for created yards. Wilson’s play as an in-line blocker provides modest results, primarily a receiver.

College stats via Sports Reference:

And here’s his spider graph via Mockdraftable:

Some highlights:

BRANDON BROOKS

Brooks being placed on active/PUP is interesting in that it was thought that the team would just place him on injured reserve. I would have to imagine this is some kind of procedural thing because he’s already been ruled out for the 2020 NFL season due to the Achilles injury he suffered back in mid-June. Or maybe they’re thinking there’s at least a small chance he could be ready by the very end of their season, like if they make to the Super Bowl and/or the season gets delayed or something? Wouldn’t count on it.

In the meantime, Jason Peters is set to start in place of Brooks.