(Video courtesy of CBS Sports)
The Philadelphia Eagles pulled off a couple of surprises when they made their final (for now) cut-down to 53 players and those surprises included players they kept and players they didn’t.
Not many expected them to keep four running backs and Chris Polk was supposed to be the odd man out. And the Eagles go into the season (for now) with just two tight ends, though at least one of the young TEs released will probably be added to the practice squad for insurance.
A couple other bubble players hung in there and made the roster, including offensive lineman Dallas Reynolds, defensive tackle Cedric Thornton, defensive end Darryl Tapp, linebacker Casey Matthews and cornerback Trevard Lindley.
And, of course, the big story in Philadelphia was the release of QB Mike Kafka in favor of veteran Trent Edwards, who came to camp as the longest of shots to make the roster.
QB (3) -- Mike Vick (11th year Virginia Tech), Nick Foles (1st year, Arizona), Trent Edwards (5th year, Stanford).
RB (5) -- LeSean McCoy (4th year, Pittsburgh), Dion Lewis (2nd year, Pittsburgh), Bryce Brown (1st year, Kansas State), Chris Polk (1st year, Washington), Stanley Havili (2nd year, Southern Cal).
WR (5) -- Jeremy Maclin (4th year, Missouri), DeSean Jackson (5th year, California), Jason Avant (7th year, Michigan), Riley Cooper (3rd year, Florida), Damaris Johnson (1st year, Tulsa).
TE (2) -- Brent Celek (6th year, Cincinnati), Clay Harbor (3rd year, Missouri State).
OL (9) -- Todd Herremans (8th year, Saginaw Valley State), Danny Watkins (2nd year, Baylor), Jason Kelce (2nd year, Cincinnati), Evan Mathis (8th year, Alabama), Demetress Bell (5th year, Northwestern State), King Dunlap (6th year, Auburn), Dennis Kelly (1st year, Purdue),Dallas Reynolds (4th year, Brigham Young), Nathan Menkin (1st year, Mary Hardin-Baylor).
DL (10) -- Trent Cole (8th year, Cincinnati), Jason Babin (9th year, Western Michigan), Cullen Jenkins (9th year, Central Michigan), Derek Landri (6th year, Notre Dame), Brandon Graham (3rd year, Michigan), Fletcher Cox (1st year Mississippi State), Darryl Tapp (7th year, Virginia Tech), Phillip Hunt (2nd year, Houston), Vinny Curry (1st year, Marshall), Cedric Thornton (2nd year, Southern Arkansas).
LB (6) -- DeMeco Ryans (7th year, Alabama), Mychal Kendricks (1st year, California), Casey Matthews (2nd year, Oregon), Jamar Chaney (3rd year, Mississippi State), Akeem Jordan (7th year, James Madison), Brian Rolle (2nd year, Ohio State).
DB (10) -- Nnamdi Asomugha (10th year, California), Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (5th year, Tennessee State), Curtis Marsh (2nd year, Utah State), Brandon Boykin (1st year, Georgia), Brandon Hughes (4th year, Oregon), Nate Allen (3rd year, South Florida), Kurt Coleman (3rd year, Ohio State), Jaiquawn Jarrett (2nd year, Temple), Colt Anderson (3rd year, Montana), David Sims (1st year, Iowas State).
Specialists (3) -- Alex Henery (2nd year, Nebraska), Chas Henry (2nd year, Florida), Jon Dorenbos (10th year, Texas-El Paso.
Reserve-Non football injury list: DT Mike Patterson (head), OT Jason Peters (Achilles).
Injured reserve: WR Ronald Johnso n (knee).
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Philadelphia Eagles from blogger Kevin Noonan, follow @CBSSportsNFLPHI.
