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As the Philadelphia Eagles prepare to hop on a nine-hour plane ride to Brazil for their much-anticipated Week 1 matchup against the Green Bay Packer, general manager Howie Roseman was putting in work in the proverbial trenches, upgrading his team with not one but two new players is a wild practice squad shakeup.
First up came the addition of Jack Driscoll, the Eagles' fourth-round pick out of Auburn in 2020, who spent the summer in Miami after an up-and-down rookie contract in South Philadelphia. While few fans mourned the loss of Driscoll when he left town earlier this year, as 2023 featured some of his worst individual performances as a pro, the Eagles now have a seasoned pro who knows Nick Sirianni's verbiage and can back up four different positions in any given game, which is pretty for the price of a practice squad spot.
And then, Roseman did it again with the addition of Kyle Philips, a former fifth round pick out of UCLA who spent the last two seasons with the Tennessee Titans. Widely expected to challenge for the Titans slot receiver spot coming out of Westwood, Philips never quite found a home in Mike Vrbel's offense and had even less luck under his successor, Brian Callahan, who released the UCLA product on August 27th with an injury designation.
Now granted, the Eagles had to release two players, TE Kevin Foelsch and S Caden Sterns, to correspond with the additions of Philips and Driscoll, but in the end, Philly landed two pro players who could help their team this fall ahead of Week 1, which is some solid general managing indeed.
Eagles fans will love Kyle Philips' draft profile.
So, while fans are very familiar with Driscoll, Philips is a much less known commodity in South Philadelphia, as he played his college ball at UCLA and then played professionally in the AFC South for the Titans. Fortunately, Lance Zierlein of NFL.com is always there for a quality prospect breakdown during the pre-draft process, and needless to say, it's easy to see why Roseman was interested.
“Slot receiver with limited range but above-average potential as a punt-return option,” Zierlein wrote for NFL.com. “Philips has the foot quickness to elude press and uncover underneath, but his effectiveness wanes over the second and third levels. He needs to improve his route efficiency to prove he can separate from nickel corners in the pros and must improve as a hands-catcher. Philips' talent to create for himself and his team as a return man gives him a shot to make a club.”
Before landing in Philadelphia, Philips played 13 games for the Titans, amassing 259 yards on 35 targets while returning nine punts for 85 yards. While he probably won't see action for the Eagles in Week 1, if something happens to Britain Covey, Philips is a quality option to back him up on the practice squad.
