Eagles try out 7 free agents, announce Matt Leo’s retirement

There’s some Philadelphia Eagles roster news to get to ahead of Wednesday’s first training camp practice. Here’s a quick overview:

• OL Dennis Kelly officially signed a one-year contract after previously agreeing to terms last week.
• DE Matt Leo was officially placed on the reserve/retired list.
• The Eagles tried out seven free agents: WR Deon Cain, WR JaVonta Payton, WR N’Keal Harry, S DeAndre Houston-Carson, LB Marcus Allen, OT Quinton Barrow, and C Ahofitu Maka.

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

DENNIS KELLY

Signing Kelly gives the Eagles more offensive line depth. We analyzed this addition in more detail last week.

MATT LEO

Leo originally joined the Eagles in 2020 via the NFL International Player Pathway Program. In exchange for being ineligible to play in regular season/playoff games, he was granted an exemption status for up to three years and did not count against the roster limit. The Eagles basically used him to help fill practice reps and preseason snaps.

But Leo started counting against the roster this offseason. And it’s not like he had a great chance of cracking the roster since he turned 31 in May and has no regular season experience.

Leo is considering transitioning to a role on Nick Sirianni’s coaching staff, according to Dave Zangaro.

DEON CAIN

Cain is reportedly re-signing with the Eagles. Whereas Kelly brought the Eagles’ roster to the max limit of 90 players, Leo’s retirement opened up a spot for Cain.

JAVONTA PAYTON

We wrote about Payton earlier on Tuesday. His limited resume suggests he’d be a camp body.

N’KEAL HARRY

Interesting to see Harry’s name pop up here. The 25-year-old was the No. 32 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Harry proved to be a disappointment with the New England Patriots before they traded him to the Chicago Bears last year for a 2024 seventh-round pick. Harry caught seven passes for 116 yards and a touchdown playing for the Windy City. The odds will be against him making the team if he signs in Philly but it could be worth giving him a shot to compete for a roster spot.

DEANDRE HOUSTON-CARSON

We wrote about how signing DHC would be a sensible move in terms of adding veteran safety depth and special teams value.

MARCUS ALLEN

The 2018 fifth-round pick attended Penn State. In five year with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he played 286 defensive snaps and 746 special teams snaps. Allen ranked tied for second on the Steelers in special teams tackles in 2022.

QUINTON BARROW

Barrow was a 2023 UDFA signing out of Grand Valley State. He briefly some time with the Kansas City Chiefs.

AHOFITU MAKA

Maka went undrafted this year and got invited to the New York Giants’ rookie minicamp.