August 21, 2022
Nick Sirianni declined to share his thoughts on whether or not starters will play for the Philadelphia Eagles in their second preseason game against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon, but the guess here is that after a positive couple of days in joint practices, it'll be almost all backups and players fighting to make the roster. With that in mind, here are the five players I'll be watching closely.
• QB Reid Sinnett: Sinnett can sling it. That's been clear over 14 practices so far. And the Eagles have demonstrated that they like to keep three quarterbacks on their roster. But after an up-and-down first preseason game against the Jets, Sinnett would do himself some favors by putting together a strong performance in either of the two remaining games against the Browns or Dolphins to solidify a spot on the roster.
• WR Jalen Reagor: It felt like the Eagles were showcasing Reagor a bit during the first preseason game against the Jets, when he got four targets in 26 snaps played. Reagor has had a good camp, and he was very active in joint practices in Berea. A strong performance on Sunday could help his trade value.
• TE Grant Calcaterra: Calcaterra missed most of camp with a hamstring injury, but he returned to the field on Friday in a limited capacity. In individual drills, he made a really nice one-handed catch while running full speed across the end zone, toe tapping along the sideline. Unfortunately he quickly ran out of grass real estate on the sideline after the catch, and when he tried to stop on the pavement, his cleats slipped out from under him, and he landed hard on the ground. Calcaterra was able to get right back up and into the receiving line.
Calcaterra looked good in the first couple of practices of camp in late July, and I began to think he'd be the TE2 as a rookie. But after missing double-digit practices, other beats began to wonder if his roster spot was in jeopardy. It'll be interesting to see how much Calcaterra participates, and if he can make a play or two.
• DE Tarron Jackson: As we wrote yesterday, Jackson (and a couple of other late-round 2021 picks in Marlon Tuipulotu and Patrick Johnson) have popped this summer. Jackson will be playing against backups in this matchup, and it would be nice to see him dominate.
• S K'Von Wallace: I'll be paying close attention to all of the safeties, really, but I think Wallace is the most interesting of the bunch. He had a shaky start to camp, but has come on of late. As a reminder, Wallace is a recent fourth-round pick and the general manager has control over the final 53, so he's going to be given every opportunity to make the team.
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