Eagles activate Jordan Davis practice window, announce PS changes

Nov 30, 2022 - 4:27 PM

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The Philadelphia Eagles officially announced some transactions involving five different players on Wednesday morning.

An overview:

• DT Jordan Davis had his 21-day practice window activated.
• DT Marvin Wilson was released from the practice squad.
• WR Kawaan Baker, WR Auden Tate, and OL Tyrese Robinson were signed to the practice squad.

Let’s sort through this news on a player-by-player basis.

JORDAN DAVIS

Davis returning to practice is easily the most significant development here. Philly’s rookie first-round pick suffered an ankle injury against the Pittsburgh Steelers that necessitated him going on injured reserve. By rule, he was required to miss at least four games. Now that that’s happened, Davis is eligible to return as soon as this week’s game against the Tennessee Titans.

The Eagles are already rolling five deep at defensive tackle with Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Linval Joseph, Ndamukong Suh, and Milton Williams all logging playing time. So it’ll be interesting to see how much Davis plays when he returns. But he’s bound to have some kind of role as one of the best run defenders on the team.

Getting Davis back doesn’t necessarily mean the Eagles’ run defense is totally fixed. It was not a strength of the team when he was healthy. But the run D has certainly been worse without him.

Just because the Eagles activated the window for Davis doesn’t mean he will definitely play this weekend. But it is possible. And the Eagles waiving Big Marv could be a signal that they feel like they don’t need the extra DT depth with Davis ready to play.

The Eagles will have to clear a roster spot in order to activate Davis from IR. I’m sure they would be happy to have him on the field with the task of stopping Derrick Henry ahead of them.

MARVIN WILSON

Big Marv did some nice things during training camp and the preseason games but that success clearly didn’t translate to the regular season. Wilson was temporarily elevated for the Eagles’ Week 9 matchup against the Houston Texans, which was the first game after the Davis injury occurred. They clearly did not love what they saw from him as they opted to not elevate him again. And now he’s gone.

KAWAAN BAKER

Baker is a new addition to the team.

He originally entered the league as a seventh-round pick (No. 255 overall) by the New Orleans Saints in the 2021 NFL Draft. He spent last season on their practice squad and played on special teams in two games.

Baker got hit with a PEDs suspension that ruled him ineligible to play in the first six games of this season. The Saints waived him and he ended up on the Green Bay Packers’ practice squad, where he spent less than a month.

The Eagles must value something about Baker’s potential. Perhaps former Saints quarterback Ian Book put in a good word for him here.

Scouting report via NFL.com:

Under-the-radar wideout with explosive athleticism and experience to play inside or outside. Baker crushed his pro day with outstanding speed and leaping numbers to go with a huge set of hands. His 1.49-second 10-yard split verifies the tape, as Baker plays with electric acceleration that can help him race past press corners or take a short throw and turn it into a long touchdown. He’s a fluid athlete with natural feet and is developing a feel for separation inside his routes, even though there is more work to do. His ball-tracking is solid, but his hands are very average. Baker hasn’t seen pro-caliber cornerbacks, so an adjustment will be necessary, but he has the traits and talent to be considered one of the sleepers of this draft.

Spider graph via Mockdraftable:

AUDEN TATE

Tate has recently bounced on and off the Eagles’ practice squad. Unlike Baker, he’s less of a long-term upside guy and more of an immediate depth receiver.

TYRESE ROBINSON

The Eagles released Robinson late last week only to bring him back. They needed another practice squad body on the OL since all they had was Fred Johnson (guard/tackle) and Cameron Tom (center) after recently cutting Roderick Johnson and Jarrad Williams.

EAGLES PRACTICE SQUAD

WR Kawaan Baker

OL Tyrese Robinson

WR Auden Tate

DT Anthony Rush

S Marquise Blair

OT Fred Johnson

CB Javelin Guidry

DE Tarron Jackson

WR Greg Ward

LB Davion Taylor

WR Devon Allen

LB Christian Elliss

CB Mario Goodrich

TE Noah Togiai

C Cameron Tom

DE Matt Leo (Exempt)