Eagles bring a familiar face back to the practice squad

The Philadelphia Eagles signed Greg Ward to their practice squad on Monday, according to an official team announcement.

In case you forgot, Ward missed most of training camp due to injury. The team placed him on injured reserve during roster cuts down to 53 players. Ward was then waived from IR.

NFL rules dictate that a team cannot re-sign a player waived from IR until a minimum of six weeks have passed. The Eagles seemingly hoped to get Ward back after that waiting period.

Ward’s return gives the Eagles more depth at wide receiver, specifically in the slot. Ward also has experience as a punt returner. He’s a nice guy to have around for locker room purposes as well.

Ward originally signed with the Eagles as an undrafted rookie free agent transitioning from quarterback to wide receiver following the 2017 NFL Draft. He eventually worked his way up to the roster in 2019 and became heralded for his heroics late that season. Ward only logged 7.9 yards per reception as a starter in 2020 before being relegated to a role player in 2021. Ward was on the outside looking in when it came to the 2022 roster outlook given Howie Roseman’s offseason wide receiver additions.

The Eagles currently have five WRs on the 53-player roster: A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins, Zach Pascal, and Britain Covey. If Covey continues to struggle as a punt returner, Ward might be in line to replace him as someone who can at least be trusted to secure a fair catch (Reno Mahe style).

The Eagles now have four WRs on the practice squad: Ward, Auden Tate, Devon Allen, and Deon Cain. They all offer different profiles. Ward represents slot WR/PR depth and is a culture guy. Tate has traditional X receiver size and could be a reclamation project. Allen is super fast and showed real potential as a gunner on punt coverage. Cain is kind of like the NFL equivalent of a “Quadruple-A player” in baseball; a fringe roster player who can be a decent short-term stop-gap option.

EAGLES PRACTICE SQUAD

WR Greg Ward

K Cameron Dicker

OG Tyrese Robinson

OT Roderick Johnson

WR Auden Tate

CB Mac McCain

LB Davion Taylor

WR Devon Allen

RB Kennedy Brooks

WR Deon Cain

S Andre Chachere

LB Christian Elliss

CB Mario Goodrich

TE Noah Togiai

C Cameron Tom

DT Marvin Wilson

DE Matt Leo (Exempt)

PRACTICE SQUAD INJURED RESERVE

OT Jarrid Williams