August 24, 2016
In the Philadelphia Eagles' third preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts this Saturday, head coach Doug Pederson listed eight players who will not participate.
They are CB Aaron Grymes, DT Mike Martin WR Jordan Matthews, DE Alex McCalister, OG Isaac Seumalo, WR Hunter Sharp, LB Joe Walker. and QB Carson Wentz.
• Grymes had a great game last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, making a highlight reel interception, and is in the conversation to make the 53-man roster. It would have been good for Grymes to try to build on that performance in Indy.
• Martin appears to be a lock for the 53-man roster. "He's in a position where you're probably not going to lean on him for more than 15, 20, 25 snaps a game," said Doug Pederson when asked if Martin has shown enough to make the roster. "And that's what you want out of him. Just getting him to the gate on Sundays is obviously where you want to be and what you want to do. But, yeah, we've seen enough and he's done enough in his past, for us as coaches, to feel comfortable with that."
• You won't see Matthews until Week 1, at the earliest.
• McCalister seems destined for the practice squad.
• Seumalo started at LG last week against the Steelers, and seemingly had a strong upper hand on that job heading into the regular season. He has a strained pectoral, which is not serious. Stefen Wisniewski will replace him as the starter at LG against the Colts. When asked if Wisniewski could still win that job, Pederson replied, "I'm not saying he can't win it, but I'm saying right now I'm not going to let an injury keep Isaac out of the starting rotation." Seumalo is a rookie, but OK.
• Sharp was later waived with an injury settlement, as we learned from every reporter on the planet:
@JimmyKempski How can I be sure? pic.twitter.com/sfCA85kH0Z
— Sam Lynch (@shlynch) August 24, 2016
• Walker is done for the season with an ACL tear.
• Wentz, of course, remains out with a hairline fracture in his rib. It is still undetermined if he'll be a go for the fourth preseason game against the New York Jets next Thursday.
• Dorial Green-Beckham will get some playing time with the starters, but in a limited role. "We put a couple plays in for him this week, expanded his role from a week ago," said Pederson. "Full week of practice. He's comfortable with what we're doing with him. Can't tell you how many [or] the number of snaps he'll get, but he'll definitely play and play with the first group."
• The starters will play into the second half. Pederson noted, "I want to see the starters come out of the dressing room. I talked to them about three full quarters and want them to feel that intensity coming out of the dressing room [in the] second half. So, at least a series – maybe two – in the third quarter depending how the game is going."
• Wendell Smallwood will see his first action of the preseason. "He'll get a good look," Pederson said. "This is his first opportunity to play, so we want to make sure that he's ready to go. We're going to be smart with it at the same time, but we definitely want to see him get some work in that first half."
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