Report: Eagles sign former Giants offensive lineman to practice squad

The Philadelphia Eagles are signing former New York Giants offensive tackle Tyre Phillips to their practice squad, according to a report from NFL insider Jordan Schultz.

Phillips, 26, was considered to be an unexpected cut by the Giants earlier this week. Here’s what our associates over at Big Blue View recently had to say:

The decision to cut Tyre Phillips, who played adequately when Evan Neal was injured last season and offers guard/tackle flexibility, was a surprise. I have said ever since the spring that I knew the organization liked guard Shane Lemieux. I did not, though, expect them to keep Lemieux over Phillips.

The following is from August 13:

There was a lot of gnashing of teeth about the play of the Giants’ offensive tackles on Friday night against the Detroit Lions. [...] Yes, what we saw from Matt Peart, Korey Cunningham, and Wyatt Davis wasn’t good. But, chill a little. Andrew Thomas and Evan Neal are the starters — and let’s not get into a Neal debate right now. The third tackle on the roster is Tyre Phillips, and he did a good job in that capacity a season ago.

Lastly, let’s look at this BBV headline from July 4:

“Tyre Phillips is the frontrunner to be Giants’ swing tackle.”

So, what gives?

Phillips did miss the entire preseason due to a leg injury. But that much didn’t prevent the Giants from briefly bringing him back on their practice squad ... only to release him after signing some offensive linemen who are new to their organization.

The Eagles’ interest in Phillips might have the Giants second-guessing their decision. Philadelphia has obviously had a lot of success identifying and developing offensive line talent through Jeff Stoutland University.

With the Eagles having already signed 16 players to their practice squad, they’ll need to make a corresponding move to free up a spot for Phillips. The obvious move would be to cut the recently re-signed Le’Raven Clark. The appeal with Clark is that he has NFL experience under his belt. Phillips brings plenty of experience to the table with 1,172 career snaps; most at right tackle though he’s also played left tackle and both guard spots. He’s also about four years younger than Clark.

As far as practice squad signings go, Phillips seems like a decent addition.