The Philadelphia Eagles announced their practice squad on Wednesday. Despite being cut, the list featured a few players who could still find themselves contributing during the 2023 regular season.
Practice squad players can be brought up to the active roster for up to three games, including Week 1.
Could some of the Eagles’ cuts have been strategic?
After all, the team had a wealth of talent at key positions, including cornerback, which may have influenced who the front office was willing to slip into waivers.
Here’s what Howie Roseman had to say after cuts were made.
“A lot of these guys that we cut today we’re interested in bringing back,” Roseman said. “We have a practice squad. We’ve talked about the roster being 69 guys as opposed to 53 and having flexibility in those spots.”
Key Eagles Practice Squad Players In 2023
Two potential contributors, K’Von Wallace and Josh Sills, were claimed by Arizona and Indianapolis, respectively, but there are still a few players that can make an impact in 2023.
Let’s take a look at a few Eagles practice squad players that could turn into contributors in 2023.
P Arryn Sippos
Despite being cut, punter Arryn Sippos could still find himself as part of the special teams unit, at least for a few games.
“I think when you look at Sip (Siposs), obviously the season didn’t end for us the way that we wanted to, and he would say the same thing, but (we) also have confidence in his abilities.
“We’ll just see what happens here in the next 24 hours with him and a bunch of these other guys. You know, try to bring some of these guys back and give them a chance to continue to compete for spots. We got the activations there on the practice squad as well for other guys too.”
Sippos has struggled since coming to Philadelphia. He had the lowest average in the NFL down the stretch in 2021 and his 44.7 average over the last two years ranks 25th out of 33 qualifying punters.
However, he’s excelled as a holder for field goal kicker Jake Elliott, and while that might not be enough to keep him on the active roster, it could be enough to earn him a second shot at the starting punter job.
“Certainly when we talk about Jake and how good a player he is, we want him to be in a great spot because he is an important player for this team. We’ll make sure that’s taken care of.”
T Le’Raven Clark
Le’Raven Clark was among three players signed to the Eagles practice squad on Thursday.
Clark had a previous stint in Philadelphia in 2021. He appeared in four games and had one start for the Eagles that season, which was enough to earn him a new contract with the Tennessee Titans.
A former third-round pick, Clark has never really gotten an opportunity to start in the NFL but could benefit from being around a veteran Eagles’ offensive line.
During his NFL career, Clark has made 18 starts, meaning he’ll be ready for game action if and when his name is called.
KR Britain Covey
The Eagles took a chance when they cut wide receiver Britain Covey, who served as the team’s primary kick returner last season.
Covey improved with time and had the 4th-highest punt return average in the NFL after Week 4 of last season.
He finished with 303 punt return yards (9.33 avg) and 206 kick return yards (20.6 avg) last season.
While Covey likely won’t factor into the Eagles’ wide receiver rotation, if Philadelphia doesn’t add a designated returner soon, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Covey on the active roster come Week 1.
[…] don’t be surprised if Sippos ends up being the Week 1 punter when it’s all said and […]