Eagles vs. Buccaneers inactives

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The Buccaneers are without starting cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting due to a hamstring injury. SMB did not play against the Eagles in Week 6 as he was on Injured Reserve.

Note that the Bucs did not activate running back Leonard Fournette from Injured Reserve, so he is out today along with No. 2 running back Ronald Jones. Running back Giovani Bernard was activated off Injured Reserve, along with linebacker Lavonte David. Bernard had just eight carries during the regular season. Ke’Shawn Vaughn is the leading running back available today for the Bucs.

Examining the Eagles’ Saturday Roster Moves

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The Eagles made a flurry of moves Saturday in advance of their playoff game against the Bucs in Tampa. Here’s what they mean

TAMPA - The Eagles made a flurry of moves Saturday in advance of their wild-card playoff encounter with the Tempa Bay Buccaneers, some with obvious intent and others coming as a bit of a surprise.

The natural move and one coach Nick Sirianni already foreshadowed earlier in the week was veteran tight end Richard Rodgers being signed from the practice squad to the 53-man roster as the replacement for Tyree Jackson, who tore his ACL in the Week 18 encounter against the Dallas Cowboys.

While the Eagles love Jackson’s long-term upside as a developmental tight end, in the short term an eight-year veteran with 10 playoff games under his belt over the years like Rodgers is probably better equipped to help for 60 minutes against the reigning Super Bowl champions on Sunday afternoon.

The Philadelphia offense has gone far heavier into 12 and 13 personnel after the first game against Tampa this season in Week 6 and the ensuing mini-bye.

Rodgers will fit the TE3 behind star Dallas Goedert and undrafted rookie Jack Stoll, who both missed Week 18 on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

MORE: Underdogs Without Masks, Unlike 2017 Super Bowl Run

Speaking of COVID, rookie defensive tackle Marlon Tuipuloto was placed on the list and the COVID elevation for him was another freshman on the other side of the line scrimmage, offensive lineman Kayode Awosika.

Typically, Tuipuloto doesn’t play much and the Eagles defense will only lean more on Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave in the postseason with emerging rookie Milton Williams and Hassan Ridgeway offering plenty of depth.

Awosika can play guard or tackle and the Eagles’ depth was banged up in Week 18 losing Brett Toth for the season with a knee injury and Andre Dillard being forced to leave the game, although he’s on track to play against the Bucs.

Meanwhile, starting RG Nate Herbig is listed as questionable for Sunday and while he’s expected to play it doesn’t hurt to have another body just in case.

Sua Opeta and Jack Anderson will likely be the main interior backups on Sunday.

The standard practice-squad elevations were edge rusher Cameron Malveaux and receiver KeeSean Johnson, the latter the biggest surprise because this is the first time Johnson will see playing time this season.

MORE: Eagles Preview: Five on the Bucs, Wild Card Edition

First of all, remember that PS elevations are almost certainly pegged for the game-day roster because if they weren’t going to play, they simply would not be elevated.

Malveaux has been in the lineup recently as both a COVID elevation and now this is the second and last time as a traditional elevation. He’s insurance for Josh Sweat, who dealt with an illness this week that caused some abdominal pain, according to Sirianni.

A team source indicated Sweat was feeling better and he did travel to Florida so barring a setback the Eagles’ best edge rusher will play.

Johnson, a former sixth-round pick of Arizona in 2019 out of Fresno State, is the replacement for J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, who suffered a very serious finger injury that required surgery in Week 18.

Johnson was chosen over fellow PS receivers John Hightower and Deon Cain and considering Hightower was protected a team-high 12 times this season and still had one elevation left, that is a clear indication that Johnson is being brought up more to help with Michael Clay’s special teams units than for the offense which will continue to rely on DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins, Jalen Reagor, and Greg Ward as its top four receivers on Sunday.

MORE: Wild-Card Weekend Betting Preview and Best Bet: Eagles-Buccaneers

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com’s EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show “Extending the Play” on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.

Ultimately, the Philadelphia Eagles just aren’t there yet

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The Philadelphia Eagles just aren’t there yet.

Sure, they can win games, run on (almost) everyone, and show flashes of greatness depending on the day, but when push comes to shove, and the Eagles needed to pull a rabbit out of their hat, they just can’t overcome a better foe solely committed to securing in the W.

Unfortunate? You bet, but again, what did you expect? The team has two wide receivers and one tight end with Ryan Kerrigan starting at defensive end, which weirdly ended up being the least of the team’s problems. With $62 million in dead money left on the cap and win-later moves littering the team’s transaction sheet, no one, not even Howie Roseman, expected the Eagles to make the playoffs under rookie head coach Nick Sirianni, and in any other season, they wouldn’t have, considering a third Wildcard spot was only commissioned in 2021.

After watching a brutal game slowly end the season like a three-hour car crash, it doesn’t feel all that great to be a Philadelphia Eagles fan at the moment. But in the not too distant future, that might change for the better. Why not focus on that for a few minutes instead of the sadness?

Remember, the Philadelphia Eagles have a bright future.

Three first-round picks.

Three.

After only having three first-round picks over the last four years – two of which were used on Andre Dillard and Jalen Reagor – the Philadelphia Eagles have three first-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, which is, unsurprisingly enough, the most of any team in the NFL.

Those picks should allow Howie Roseman and company to address their needs in a variety of different ways, from targeting positions of need, to trading for established stars, or simply going BPA and accruing maximum talent on a roster in need of top-end performers.

Fortunately, the Eagles won’t be forced to go with the former like they have with all five of their last first-rounders, as the Eagles also have money to spend in free agency.

That’s right, gone are the days of signing older vets on one-year deals in the hopes that one, maybe two still have something left in the tank and in their place maybe, just maybe, the Eagles could walk away from March with a legit difference maker, marking the first time that had happened since Javon Hargrave in 2020.

Sidebar I: Do you know who the Eagles’ last free agent signee was who made it to a Pro Bowl was as a member of the team? That would be none other than Malcolm Jenkins and Brandon Brooks in 2019.

With $13 million in available cap space as we speak with the potential to free up even more money if the Birds so choose, could the Eagles secure themselves a nice veteran receiver to play opposite DeVonta Smith and Quez Watkins? A depth player who could moonlight as a return man? Both?

And what about on the defensive end of the field? With the big named defensive ends like Kayvon Thibodaux likely off the board when the Eagles first go on the clock, and Derek Barnett’s time with the team likely on the way out, maybe the team will go after a proven commodity like Chandler Jones or Jadeveon Clowney on the open market.

Sidebar II: If Jonathan Gannon remains at defensive coordinator, my favorite defensive name to watch is Anthony Barr, who can fill a number of boxes with the team and has that Mike Zimmer pedigree.

Needless to say, the 2022 Philadelphia Eagles are going to look a little different than their 2021 iteration when they take the field again this summer. Long-time fan favorites like Rodney McLeod may be gone, as could underperforming youngsters like JJ Arcega-Whiteside, and in their place will be a new crop of players both drafted and signed who better fill the holes presented by Nick Sirianni’s rookie season. Will it all work out? Only time will tell, but with a baseline of a Wildcard playoff berth now set, it’s safe to say the foundation is in place for something great.

Philadelphia Eagles 2022 Offseason Preview: Pending free agents, team needs, draft picks, and more

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The Philadelphia Eagles shocked the NFL with a surprising playoff push in 2021, despite looking to be firmly in the rebuilding camp just one season ago. For the foreseeable future, Jalen Hurts appears to be a cheap option at QB, and the Eagles aren’t short on picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. The Eagles also aren’t struggling with a mass exodus of pending free agents, and their team needs aren’t so vast that they couldn’t address them in one offseason.

Philadelphia Eagles 2022 Offseason Preview

Whether we as media or fans believe in Hurts has no bearing on how Howie Roseman, Nick Sirianni, and the Eagles’ players feel about him. By all accounts, he is beloved by the lot and has their confidence going forward.

We’ve seen Roseman play the free agency and draft games like a power hitter with a 3-0 count time after time. He swings for the fences with the likes of Rams general manager Les Snead and, to a lesser extent, Saints GM Mickey Loomis. We even saw the NFL’s version of a “dream team” with the Eagles in 2011.

The Eagles have $13.6 million in projected cap space

Source: Spotrac (as of Jan. 16)

Although Philadelphia doesn’t possess a pile of cash, they don’t have to look too far to find some hidden under the bed. If they extend Darius Slay and cut a few solid but redundant offensive linemen, they’d have north of $30 million in cap space to improve their roster in 2022.

Slay, Brandon Brooks, Javon Hargrave, Lane Johnson, and Fletcher Cox are the big contracts on the books for Philadelphia. But none amount to 10% of the overall salary cap. However, Slay’s contract tops $20 million in 2022, barring an extension.

Eagles’ 2022 pending free agents

Jason Kelce is the only big name on offense, but with Landon Dickerson in the fold, Kelce could opt to take his beard to the beach for a well-earned retirement. The only problem is he’s still playing at a high level when healthy and might not be ready to hang up his cleats yet.

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The Eagles aren’t short on pending 2022 free agents on the other side of the ball. Rodney McLeod, Anthony Harris, Derek Barnett, Steven Nelson, Alex Singleton, and Genard Avery are all without a contract heading into 2022. That would leave quite a few gaps on the defensive side of the ball, which is where we can start to look for team needs.

Eagles’ team needs

With the offense pretty steady heading into 2021, we can look almost squarely at the defensive side of the ball regarding team needs for the Eagles.

Philadelphia needs to revamp their pass defense, both on the back end and at the second level. But cornerback opposite of Slay is another need for this team. Unfortunately, they still need another significant investment at wide receiver to complement DeVonta Smith.

Eagles’ top five needs in the 2022 NFL offseason

Safety

Cornerback

Linebacker

Wide receiver

Defensive end

Eagles’ 2022 NFL Draft picks

The Eagles played the 2022 NFL Draft like any of us would have in Madden. They loaded up on first-round picks! They let Miami give them a 2022 first so the Dolphins could move up to draft Jaylen Waddle at No. 6 overall in 2021. Then, in a stroke of absolute genius, Roseman put terms on the Carson Wentz trade that landed them another first-round pick.

So, Philadelphia now has three picks inside the top 32 and five selections inside the top 100. If they simply draft good football players, they should have no choice but to improve their football team.

Philadelphia might not make all 11 picks in the upcoming draft, but they’ll have enough ammunition to do some severe damage. Here’s how the Eagles’ 2022 NFL Draft picks currently stand according to the draft order:

Eagles News: Jordan Mailata is PFF’s third-highest-graded tackle

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Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

Best NFL players at every position in 2021: Highest-graded veterans, rookies and surprises - ESPN+

Biggest surprise: Jordan Mailata, Eagles. Regular-season PFF grade: 86.9. Mailata will finish as the league’s third-highest-graded tackle in his second season, as his grade jumped from 70.9 last year to 86.9 this season. At 6-foot-8 and 346 pounds, he is one the biggest players in the league. And because of his rugby background coming from his native Australia, Mailata never played a down of American football before being taken in by Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland and subsequently becoming one of the best at his position in the league.

NFL Playoff Picks Against the Spread: Wild Card Games - BGN

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES at TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (-8): I really don’t feel incredibly confident in predicting the winner of this game. The one thing I DO feel confident about is that it’ll be close. The Eagles’ defense figures to struggle against Tom Brady and the Bucs’ offense. But Philly’s commitment to their ground game offers a new dynamic that Tampa will have to deal with, unlike the last time these two teams met. The weather could also be an interesting factor in this matchup with heavy winds expected. Such a variable might only stand to benefit the underdogs. The Eagles’ vibes are too positive for them to totally get housed in this matchup. And it’s not like the Bucs are exactly firing on all cylinders lately. Their last five games: destroying the listless Panthers twice, getting shut out by a Saints team that didn’t even have a real quarterback, almost blowing a big lead at home to the Bills, and needing a big comeback to beat the Jets. The reigning Super Bowl champions are not invincible. PICK: Eagles +8.

Eye On the Enemy #81: Eagles-Buc wildcard round prediction with Trey Downey + Reflecting on the nightmare 2002 NFC Championship Game at the Vet - BGN Radio

John Stolnis talked to Trey Downey, podcast host for Bucs Nation. They previewed what Tom Brady might do against Jonathan Gannon’s defense, how the Bucs plan to stop Jalen Hurts, and John gave his predictions for the Wild Card round. John also looked back on the last time these two teams met in the playoffs, the nightmare 2002 NFC Championship Game at the Vet.

Buccaneers vs. Eagles: Bold predictions and staff picks for Wild Card Round - Bucs Nation

David: Seven times this season Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has completed 16 or fewer passes. Six times this season Buccaneers linebacker Devin White has had 10 or more tackles. Both of these stats collide on Sunday when the run-heavy Eagles lead to Devin White having more tackles than Jalen Hurts has pass completions.

2022 NFL Playoffs: Power Rankings - Fake Teams

7.) Philadelphia Eagles: There are two sides to this…the first that I think Jalen Hurts could surprise people and turn some heads. This team has enough individual talent to really surprise people. The other and more difficult side is their path to the Super Bowl being with Tampa Bay and Green Bay, and it does not get much tougher than that for any team. The average nature of most of their play will be tough to make a deep run.

‘It’ll still eat at him and you’ll never know’: The playoff struggles that led Jalen Hurts to his first NFL postseason - Inquirer

“What are we getting at with this?” he said, before moving on to the next question. Henderson said he knew where Hurts was coming from. “It’ll still eat at him and you’ll never know,” Henderson said. “I’m not comparing him to Michael Jordan, but if you know anything about Michael Jordan, he uses everything as motivation. … It’s the same with Jalen. He feels if he takes a moment off, or a moment to reflect, then it’s going to deter him from moving forward. “So he has to have those internal motivations to keep his fire lit to move forward. And I think that’s what those games do for him.” Hurts’ sights are set solely on the wild-card playoff matchup Sunday at the Buccaneers. The Eagles aren’t anywhere near the underdog Channelview was six years ago, but Tampa comes in as an 8-½-point favorite with quarterback Tom Brady making his 46th start in the postseason. The 23-year-old Hurts, who will be the youngest starting playoff quarterback in team history, may not have the 44-year-old Brady’s experience. But since his last high school game he played in the biggest “knockout” games at the collegiate level. “I’ve been on some very big stages,” Hurts said. “I think all of those things have kind of helped me.”

A Little Help - Iggles Blitz

The key to affecting Brady is normally pressure up the middle. That means Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave are the real keys for the Eagles. They must win up front and get quick pressure on Brady. He gets rid of the ball as fast as any QB in the league so interior pressure is the best way to affect him. You need to make Brady move his feet and you want to be right in his line of sight. Even if you don’t hit him, he’ll have to hold the ball longer than he wants as he adjusts. That gives guys like Sweat time to win off the edge. I can’t stress enough that the Eagles and Bucs are different teams now than when they met. Tampa had the best run D in the league and they were also coming up with takeaways. The game was played on a short week, which gave a real advantage to the team that had a veteran coach and QB. The Eagles had lost 3 of 4 games. The offense was struggling and the defense couldn’t stop the run. Nick Sirianni was still hell bent on turning this into a passing team. Jonathan Gannon played a defense that was so soft that it might as well have been cotton candy. Needless to say, a lot has changed. That doesn’t mean the Eagles will win, but these are different teams.

Best wild-card Sunday single-game & player props bets - PFF

QB JALEN HURTS under 0.5 interceptions (+110). Hurts has done a good job preventing turnovers in his second season, as he finished with just nine interceptions and ranked 15th among quarterbacks in turnover-worthy play percentage (min. 400 passing attempts). With a strong cold front, showers and storms predicted for Tampa Bay on Sunday, the weather could have an effect on both quarterbacks and force both offenses to rely more heavily on the run – which would mean fewer overall passing attempts deep targets for Hurts, both of which are logically correlated with interception probability. At plus juice, there is simply too much value to pass up tailing Hurts’ passing touchdowns prop, especially given that PFF’s player props tool gives Hurts a 54% chance to not throw an interception.

In Roob’s Observations, a lot to like about the Eagles’ mentality - NBCSP

Jalen Reagor was targeted 57 times this year and had one catch of 25 yards or more and two TDs. Greg Ward was targeted 11 times this year and had one catch of 25 yards or more and three touchdowns. More Ward. Less Reagor.

The week of words, from the players - PE.com

DeVonta Smith, WR. “You’ve got to know what’s at stake. It’s win or go home – win you advance, lose you go home. That’s kind of the main thing. It comes down to what we do as a football team, not about them. How we execute our game plan. How we do our techniques, the fundamentals and things. It’s the same thing for me. It’s the next game. It just feels like another game to me. I treat it the same and do my usual routine and stick to it. For me, honestly, it feels the same.”

Eight Eagles thoughts: Jonathan Gannon’s defense vs. Tom Brady, playing in the rain, Jason Kelce in rare air - The Athletic

The forecast in Tampa on Sunday calls for morning thunderstorms, then partly cloudy late in the day with strong winds. So run-the-ball weather, right? Well, not quite. The wind could have a major effect on how Sirianni decides to call the game, with strength and the direction affecting the quarterback. However, Sirianni believes that rain and a wet field actually favor the passing game, which he learned from Larry Kehres, his coach at Mount Union. “He would say the offensive line has the advantage against the pass rush on a sloppy field when the field’s wet because the get-off isn’t quite as quick,” Sirianni said. “There is some slippage. It’s just, advantage goes to the offensive line a little bit because it slows the pass rush down. Then his other point was always defensive backs are reacting. Wide receivers know the route depth. They know if they’re breaking inside or breaking outside. They know if they’re going vertical. They know what release they’re going to use off the line of scrimmage. So, advantage goes back to the offense again on that.”

Vikings request to interview Eagles DC Jonathan Gannon for head coaching job - Daily Norseman

He then got hired to be a part of Mike Zimmer’s staff here in Minnesota as an assistant defensive backs coach, a position he held from 2014 to 2017. From there, he joined Frank Reich’s staff with the Indianapolis Colts in the same capacity and moved on to the job as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator before the start of the 2021 season. Gannon is another very young member of the NFL’s coaching ranks, as he celebrated his 39th birthday just a couple of weeks ago. He has plenty of experience, mostly with defensive backs, but one has to wonder if only being a coordinator for one season is something that could potentially work against him.

Could Doug Pederson be the Giants’ next head coach? - Big Blue View

Personally, I’d be surprised (maybe even stunned) if the Giants wound up hiring Pederson. Right now the best we can hope for is that the Giants hire the best candidate for general manager, and the new GM hires the best candidate for head coach.

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy must prove his worth in 2021 postseason - Blogging The Boys

The biggest question mark heading into the 49ers game from a team perspective is currently the kicker. While he’s had plenty of struggles down the stretch, McCarthy must find a way to pull this game out given how healthy his team is in this matchup. The 49ers are a good football team. They present some unique challenges for the Cowboys, but there is no one who would currently say they are the more talented team from top-to-bottom. In that case, it’ll fall on Mike McCarthy to let his experience in these situations shine on the biggest stage he’s been on since taking over as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. He’s in great position to have a nice playoff run, with one of the more talented rosters we’ve seen from the Cowboys in the last 10-15 years. If the Cowboys can’t pull it out, many Cowboys fans will rightly be disappointed with a first-round exit after the season they had in 2021, the fact their favored in this football game with the home field advantage. If they do fall short, this will start to feel eerily similar to the Jason Garrett era.

Who is more desperate than Ron Rivera going into 2022? - Hogs Haven

As Ron Rivera enters his third year as Supreme Commander of Washington’s football operations, his seat is heating up. A failed gamble that Dwayne Haskins was an NFL quarterback in Rivera’s first season, combined with a failure to groom a longer term option behind the starter in his second, have left the culture-changing coach in a difficult position. In the 2022 offseason, Rivera appears to be left with no choice other than move a significant share of his chips onto the table, either grabbing a rookie QB in the draft, or expending substantial trade capital in the hopes that one of the mid-level veteran QBs that might be on the market can carry him to his first winning record in 5 seasons. Despite Rivera’s increasingly pressing situation, his is probably not the most dire in the league. In this piece, we’ll look at other NFL execs and coaches whose situation is more urgent, and explore ways that the Washington Rouge Commandants could potentially take advantage of those circumstances this offseason.

The Vikings have requested to interview 49ers DC DeMeco Ryans for HC vacancy - Niners Nation

It speaks volumes to what the league thinks about Ryans as he received an interview one year into becoming a defensive coordinator. Many have asked why the Vikings would go in the defensive direction again. Their offense is already set. Their core is in place. Also, it’s more about the message. Mike Zimmer comes off as a by-the-book, almost fear-based coach. Ryans is the opposite of that. He seems like the best version of what a player’s coach is. It’s been fun to watch him interact and evolve this year, so it’s no surprise Ryans is wanted around the league.

Colts Should Seriously Pursue Trade for Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson—If Option Realistically Presents Itself - Stampede Blue

If either future Hall of Fame quarterback becomes realistically available this offseason, the Indianapolis Colts should do everything in their power to land either the Green Bay Packers Aaron Rodgers or Seattle Seahawks Russell Wilson—and go ‘all in’ for 2022 and immediately beyond. At a quarterback crossroads with incumbent starter Carson Wentz (and potentially faced with their 5th new starter in as many seasons), none of the Colts’ top brass: team owner Jim Irsay, general manager Chris Ballard, and head coach Frank Reich have exactly given him a vote of confidence during this early offseason—as the team actively vets through any and all potentially available upgrades. Ballard has already stated this early offseason that he doesn’t want another stopgap, but a long-term answer at the game’s most important position.

Bengals-Raiders was marred by a phantom whistle on a TD in 2022 NFL Playoffs - SB Nation

The Cincinnati Bengals were driving deep into Las Vegas Raiders territory in the second quarter of their first round game in the 2022 NFL Playoffs when a controversial play swung the tide of the matchup. On a third-and-four play inside the red zone, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow rolled to the right sideline to avoid the pass rush and fired a bullet into the end zone caught by Tyler Boyd. It appeared that Burrow may have stepped out of bounds before the threw the pass, but the play was ruled a touchdown on the field. A replay confirmed Burrow wasn’t even close to stepping out of bounds before he threw the pass. There was only one problem: an official blew his whistle while the ball was in the air. By rule, the play should be dead and the down should be replayed because of the inadvertent whistle. Instead, the touchdown was able to stand, and the Bengals took control the game.