3 former Philadelphia Eagles surprisingly released coming out of training camp
As the Philadelphia Eagles went through the arduous task of trimming down their roster to 53, Howie Roseman and company slowly watched as literally hundreds of players from around the league hit the open market.
Some of these players Philadelphia took a fancy to and made sure to bring them in on either the practice squad or the 53-man roster, including Byron Young, the former Las Vegas Raiders 2023 third-round pick who they claimed off of waivers and JT Woods, a 2022 Chargers third-round pick out of Baylor who landed on the practice squad.
And others, well, Philly didn’t have to look too long at their scouting reports, as they just so happened to be former members of the team, including a speed outside receiver, a versatile rusher/return man, and a tight end who can do much more than just catch the ball.
1. Quez Watkins
In 2023, few players on the Eagles roster were as unpopular as Quez Watkins, who was expected to play WR3 for Philadelphia but ended up in more of a WR4 role after dropping plenty of important passes from Jalen Hurts in his fourth professional season.
A certified speedster and still a steal for where he was drafted at pick 200, Watkins shocked the world by becoming a player for the Birds in a way Jalen Reagor never could, outlasting the first-round pick out of TCU while lapping his production many times over.
Still, while Watkins could speed past plenty of outside cornerbacks and make magic on go routes, he simply lacked the sort of intangibles needed to be an elite, or even just consistent receiving threat in Philadelphia’s offense, and thus, was allowed to sign with the Steelers on a one-year, $1.3 million contract to compete for a spot on the roster.
Afforded a chance to compete with the likes of Calvin Austin to become the Steelers’ new speedy outside receiver, Watkins struggled with consistency and ultimately was not deemed necessary enough to remain on the 53-man roster coming out of camp, with the Steelers instead stashing him on their practice squad while they continue to figure out the best receivers to surround Russell Wilson with this fall.
2. Boston Scott
Another stalwart of the Eagles’ offensive attack and return game over the entire Nick Sirianni era, Boston Scott finally saw his tenure in Philadelphia come to an end when he signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Los Angeles Rams to join his third NFL team over his seven-year NFL tenure.
While Scott was more consistent than Watkins when the ball was in his hand, his playing time was anything but, as in 2023, he only had two games where he ran the ball more than three or more times, which is a sharp decline from nine the year prior.
Widely expected to be the next Darren Sproles, Scott never quite lived up to expectations but still played well enough to draw interest outside of the City of Brotherly Love – and, surprisingly enough, not from the New York Giants – via the Rams, who signed him to fill a hybrid role as a third-down back and return man.
Since then, however, Scott suffered an injury that limited his offseason, the Rams decided they wanted to try Kyren Williams as a punt returner, and the pride of LA Tech ended up signing a deal to join the Steelers’ practice squad, where he will not only reunite with Watkins but also return to the Keystone State for his seventh professional season. Considering how up-in-the-air Pittsburgh is at the moment, it’s clear Scott’s camp saw an opportunity and ran with it because otherwise, joining the Steelers is very out of the blue indeed.
3. Jack Stoll
Much like Watkins and Scott, Jack Stoll came to the Eagles from humble beginnings, going undrafted out of Nebraska in 2021 before latching on in Philadelphia, but as his career went on, he slowly earned the trust of the coaching staff and ultimately settled in behind Dallas Goedert at the team’s long-term TE2.
Now granted, Stoll wasn’t exactly the second coming of Goedert, who began as a 1B to Zach Ertz before taking over the Eagles’ premier tight end role a few years into his run, as the collegiate Cornhusker was almost never targeted as a receiver, but his blocking abilities earned him consistent playing time in Sirianni’s offense, and as a result, he was a useful cog in Philadelphi’s offense.
When his contract came due, and Howie Roseman allowed him to test the open market and Stoll, too, earned interest from outside of South Philadelphia, with the New York Giants handing the fourth-year pro a one-year, $1.05 million contract to compete for minutes at tight end behind Daniel Bellinger.
Still, despite his best efforts, Stoll was ultimately released coming out of camp in favor of fourth-round rookie Theo Johnson and Chris Manhertz, a fellow free agent signee who ended up beating out Stoll for the TE3 spot and had to re-evaluate his options on where to play next.
Fortunately, there is a happy ending spot at the end of Stoll’s story, as he re-signed with the Eagles to become part of their practice squad and may just end up playing the TE3 role come Week 1 if Sirianni wants to go with the veteran hand instead of the more inexperienced EJ Jenkins.
Matty Breisch is a multifaceted writer who specializes in WWE content at ClutchPoints. He can be read at Heavy, Fansided, Philadelphia Sports Network, and right here at ClutchPoints. Are you ready to read about wrestling? Well, you’ve come to the right place.
