General manager Howie Roseman continues to search for new talent to add to the roster.
He has been particularly busy looking at the punter and tight end positions. The Eagles agreed to terms with two-time Pro Bowl punter Mat McBriar on Wednesday. Roseman made it clear that McBriar will not automatically take Chas Henry's roster spot; he will simply add competition.
"Obviously we expect (Chas Henry) to take a step up in his second year being more comfortable, but we want to have the best possible competition we can," Roseman said in an interview on Training Camp Live. "We talk all the time about having the best 90-man roster and breaking it down to the best 53-man roster we can, so if we see any good players out there, we're going to do our due diligence."
Roseman said that McBriar likely remained unsigned due to a nerve injury suffered last season with the Dallas Cowboys. Roseman was impressed by what he saw during McBriar's workout on Monday and was not concerned by the injury.
"You see with those nerves, once they come back they're in full force, so it's different than a knee or ankle or any other body part. We conferred with our great medical staff and training staff, and then we put him out here on the field and we saw what he could do, and he was booting the ball," Roseman said.
Head coach Andy Reid estimated that McBriar's health was "about 90 percent."
At the tight end spot, the Eagles brought tight end Visanthe Shiancoe in for a workout on Tuesday, although he later signed with the New England Patriots. The Eagles reportedly have shown interest in another veteran tight end, Jeremy Shockey, as well.
"If we see someone who we think has the ability to come in and compete, add competition, we'll add them," Roseman explained.
Reid echoed Roseman's statements, saying that any roster moves would simply be a way of maximizing player competition.
While they are looking to add talented players during Training Camp, Roseman felt that the team did not need to go out and find a replacement for Mike Patterson due to the abundance of talent at the defensive tackle position.
"We felt that (defensive tackle) was one of, if not our strongest position, on our football team," Roseman said.
The Eagles hope that guys like Fletcher Cox, Cullen Jenkins, Antonio Dixon and Derek Landri will be able to fill in nicely for Patterson. Roseman said he would leave it to the doctors to determine the length of time that Patterson will be sidelined.
As for the guys who have been in Lehigh already, Roseman was pleased with their hard work.
"On behalf of our players and our coaches, they have a great attitude going on right now, great energy, and they put that out on the field." Roseman said.
Roseman and the Eagles will continue to keep their eyes open looking for more prospects to add to an already-talented roster.
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