Ahead of the final preseason game, the Eagles tweaked the roster Saturday by waiving rookie free agent safety Stephen Roberts. No corresponding roster move was announced.
With Roberts out, the Eagles currently have five available safeties on the roster heading into Thursday night's game with the Jets (7 p.m., Lincoln Financial Field) in starters Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod, veteran third safety Corey Graham, Jeremy Reaves, and Tre Sullivan. Special teams ace Chris Maragos is on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list but already counts toward the 90-man roster.
The starters typically do not play in the final preseason game so unless a roster move is made in advance it will be interesting to see how head coach Doug Pederson and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz plan to divvy up the snaps.
Fran Duffy noted in his Eagle Eye in the Sky column that rookie cornerback Avonte Maddox played some snaps at safety Thursday night in Cleveland. According to the NFL Gamebook, Roberts suited up but did not get on the field.
The 22-year-old Roberts was a rookie free agent signing out of Auburn. He had 136 tackles and two picks in his final two seasons on campus.
