Eagles announce five roster moves; No Leonard Fournette for Buccaneers

The Philadelphia Eagles officially announced five moves ahead of their wild card playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. An overview:

• TE Richard Rodgers was signed from the practice squad to the active roster.
• G/T Kayode Awosika was elevated from the practice squad as a COVID elevation.
• WR KeeSean Johnson and DE Cameron Malveaux were elevated from the practice squad as standard elevations.
• DT Marlon Tuipulotu was placed on reserve/COVID-19.

Let’s sort through this news on a player-by-player basis.

RICHARD RODGERS

With Tyree Jackson suffering an ACL injury and subsequently going on injured reserve, Nick Sirianni indicated the Eagles would be calling up Dick Rod to the active roster. Rodgers figures to be the third tight end behind Dallas Goedert and Jack Stoll.

Rodgers is arguably an upgrade on Jackson in the short-term, at least when it comes to blocking and special teams ability. Jackson obviously possesses a higher ceiling and more long-term upside. While not flashy, Rodgers is capable of doing the dirty work.

KAYODE AWOSIKA

Awosika was one of the four practice squad players the Eagles designated with protections earlier this week. Here’s what we wrote at the time:

With Andre Dillard getting banged up in Week 18 and Brett Toth going on injured reserve, the Eagles could afford some more tackle depth. They could be planning to use one of their two practice squad elevations on Awosika.

We should also add that Nate Herbig was ruled questionable to play on Friday’s final injury report. If Herbig can’t play, the Eagles will likely start Sua Opeta in his place. Jack Anderson and Awosika would be the top interior backups; neither played their first NFL regular season snaps until last week.

KEESEAN JOHNSON

A little interesting to see Johnson get his first elevation this season. The Eagles did not use a PS protection on him earlier in the week. But Philly did need a fifth wide receiver after placing J.J. Arcega-Whiteside on injured reserve. The Eagles notably chose to elevate Johnson over fellow practice squad receivers John Hightower and Deon Cain. Seems like value his ability as a special teams contributor over his peers.

CAMERON MALVEAUX

With Josh Sweat ruled questionable to play, the Eagles needed to prepare themselves with more defensive end depth. Sweat reportedly made the trip to Florida, so, that’s good. I would guess he’ll be active on Sunday ... but it remains to be seen if his snap count will be impacted after missing the entire week of practice.

MARLON TUIPULOTU

Mr. T likely would’ve been a healthy scratch for this game anyway. Here’s hoping he quickly recovers from having COVID.

...

See below for a current look at the Eagles’ 2021 practice squad.

Format: Position, player, (times protected this season), [times elevated this season]*

*Not counting COVID-19 elevations.

WR John Hightower (12) [1]

S Jared Mayden (7) [2]

G/T Kayode Awosika (7)

CB Mac McCain (5)

LB JaCoby Stevens (3) [1]

CB Craig James (3)

DT Marvin Wilson (2) [ 1]

TE Noah Togiai (2)

DE Cameron Malveaux (1) [2]

WR KeeSean Johnson [1]

OL Luke Juriga

OT Casey Tucker

WR Deon Cain

DT Raequan Williams

LB Christian Elliss

{DE Matt Leo — international exemption - doesn’t count towards limit}

NO PLAYOFF LENNY FOR THE BUCS

The Buccaneers activated two players from injured reserve ahead of Saturday’s 4:00 PM Eastern deadline: linebacker Lavonte David and Giovani Bernard. Getting David back would be a big boost for their defense, especially as they look to slow down Philly’s rushing attack.

The Bucs did NOT activate Leonard Fournette in time for Sunday’s action. Fournette was an important contributor during Tampa’s Super Bowl run last year; he logged 4.7 yards per carry, 8.2 yards per reception, and four total touchdowns.

Fournette had 127 yards from scrimmage in the Bucs’ game against the Eagles earlier this year, proving to be a reliable checkdown option for Tom Brady. It’s a break for Philly that he won’t be playing. Tampa will also be without Fournette’s top backup, Ronald Jones, who was ruled out due to injury.