Report: Eagles will place two players on active/PUP list to begin training camp

The Philadelphia Eagles will place Tyree Jackson and Brett Toth on the active/physically unable to perform list prior to training camp, according to a report from Jimmy Kempski.

This news isn’t unexpected; both players suffered ACL injuries during the team’s Week 18 game against the Dallas Cowboys last season.

By going on the active/PUP list, neither player will be permitted to participate in practice until they are officially activated. They will still count against the 90-player roster limit in the meantime.

The rules of the active/PUP list allow the players to be activated at any point during camp. If not activated before the 53-player roster cut deadline, however, they will be transferred to the reserve/PUP list.

By going on the reserve/PUP list, a player is automatically required to miss the first four games of the season. (Note: It used to the first six games but the NFL tweaked the rule this offseason.) If Jackson and/or Toth go on the reserve/PUP list, the earliest they can return is for the Eagles’ Week 5 road game against the Arizona Cardinals.

Without knowing the specifics of their recovery timelines, it’s possible Jackson and/or Toth might remain on the reserve/PUP list even longer. It all depends on when they’re healed and how they handle the process ramping up to return.

Of the two players, Jackson likely has the better path to playing time in 2022. If he wasn’t injured, he would be competing in camp with the likes of Jack Stoll, Grant Calcaterra, Richard Rodgers, Noah Togai, and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside to be Dallas Goedert’s top backup. It’s conceivable Jackson could win that job since he demonstrated intriguing upside in training camp last year despite it being his first full summer as a tight end after previously playing quarterback.

With Jackson still recovering from injury, however, he is potentially set to lose ground. He might be TE3 if/when he returns. That’s the role he held last year with Stoll being TE2 following the Zach Ertz trade.

As for Toth, there’s no guarantee he earns a roster spot even if healthy since the Eagles have a lot of offensive line bodies. But the team seems to still value his potential. And he might actually stand to benefit from beginning the season on reserve/PUP if his return coincides with the Eagles dealing with offensive line availability issues (God forbid). The Eagles have used Toth at every position in some capacity; he’s repped at both tackle and guard in practice and he played at center during the season finale.

Though the Eagles will hardly be relying on them as key contributors, they’ll be hoping Jackson and Toth get healthy sooner than later.