Eagles Waive C.J. Smtih & Taylor Hart; Add Five to Practice Squad
Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
As previously noted, the Eagles claimed three players off of waivers today. To make room for those players, the Eagles needed to drop three players. The first to be dropped was wide receiver Paul Turner. We now know who the other two players are, that were dropped. It was recently announced that the Birds waived defensive lineman Taylor Hart, and defensive back C.J. Smith.
It came as a minor surprise that the Eagles waived Hart, given that he had a strong showing in both training camp, and the preseason. There were reports claiming that the Birds were shopping him earlier this week, and this move signifies the thought that they were unable to find a suitor. Sitting at third on the defensive tackle position, it was believed that the 6'6, 287 lb Hart was well undersized for the position. With the Eagles keeping both Beau Allen, and Destiny Vaeao, the organization clearly felt that they could move in a different direction without Hart. It also helped that they were able to sign Aziz Shittu to the practice squad, earlier this afternoon. Hart should catch on with another team, possibly as a defensive end.
The departure of Smith didn't surprise many, given the acquisition of Terrence Brooks. The fact that there were also five corners ahead of him on the depth chart didn't help, either. Smith, 23, was a teammate of quarterback Carson Wentz back in their North Dakota State days. The Eagles signed him as an undrafted free agent back in April, and he impressed enough to sustain the 53-man cutdown. Unfortunately, he fell victim to the numbers game in the end.
Also of note, the Eagles signed five players to their practice squad, today. After waiving them yesterday, the team was able to bring back running back Byron Marshall, wide receiver David Watford, wide receiver Marcus Johnson, offensive lineman Darrell Greene, and the aforementioned defensive line Aziz Shittu, and add them to the practice squad. Per NFL rules though, all practice squad players are eligible to be signed by another team -- so long as that other team is placing the player in question on their 53-man roster.
As always, the 53-man roster is subject to change. There will be players that unexpectedly get released, that could change the game, entirely. So, as always -- stay tuned for further developments
