Roster Hopefuls Get One Last Curtain Call
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Many fans greet the final game of the preseason with a yawn. Many players look at it as one of their last opportunities to prove they belong in the NFL.
The Eagles will close out their preseason against the Jets on Thursday night in North Jersey.
The coaching staff has had high praise for players up and down the roster and acknowledged that this round of cuts will be extremely difficult. Running Back Wendell Smallwood can sense the urgency with many players as the battle for the final roster spots goes down to the wire.
"Guys are elevating their game every day in the practice and in the games," said Smallwood. "We want to get better but when you see a guy behind you doing good, you want to be doing good if not better than him. It's been driving the competition between us and elevated our game."
Smallwood will not have to worry about his spot on the roster. The second-year back appears to be locked in with a heavy workload this season. However, other backs are on the bubble with one being free agent Corey Clement. Coach Doug Pederson was impressed with the Glassboro native and talked about whether comparisons between a free agent and a drafted player make a difference on cutdown day.
"I think you do consider where a guy was picked," Pederson said. "If there are resources invested, if there's guarantees, all that stuff, which I leave that to Howie (Roseman) and those guys. I'm sure that plays a little bit into the decisions but from my standpoint, we pick the best 53 football players for this roster."
While some players will battle for jobs, the regulars will enjoy a night off on Thursday. Safety Malcolm Jenkins will be watching from the sidelines as the backups take the field, but Jenkins also wants to help the rest of the roster stay focused on the last game of the preseason.
"We try to be as encouraging as possible," said Jenkins. "The real situation is that we've got to go from 90 to 53 in a couple of days. This is their last opportunity to go out there and try to make this team, but also to put some tape out there for some other teams to get evaluated."
Pederson can relate to what his roster hopefuls will be going through on Thursday. The former player was cut several times during his career and knows tensions can be high for many players in the fourth preseason game. Clement took comfort in knowing his head coach could relate the the inevitable butterflies that will await on Thursday night.
"He knows what we are feeling right now," Clement said. "He said he's been in our position of getting cut and restarting and getting cut again. It's the nature of the business."
