Washington Redskins projected roster(...And Eagles & Cowboys Projected Rosters...) July, 28, 2014 By John Keim | ESPN Examining the Washington Redskins roster: Quarterbacks (3) •Robert Griffin III •Kirk Cousins •Colt McCoy Jay Gruden only had two quarterbacks in each of his three seasons with Cincinnati, but Griffin still needs to prove his durability. So nothing has changed since the original posting. If something happened to Griffin, they would still be in good shape with Cousins and McCoy. If they go with two, then McCoy gets left off. Running backs (4) •Alfred Morris •Roy Helu •Chris Thompson •Darrel Young Its really hard to tell with running backs until the games begin. But, thus far, Chris Thompson has been more impressive than Lache Seastrunk -- though the latter has different speed and flashy moves. I do have a hard time seeing Seastrunk end up being cut, so theres a good chance they keep five backs. If Seastrunk has a quiet preseason, then they could stash him on the practice squad. Also, Thompson must prove his durability. In the end that will be the deciding factor. Thompsons ability to catch is better at this point, but his pass protection skills are questionable. Seastrunk has to grow here. By keeping four here, the Redskins can go with an extra player at another spot. This means Evan Royster is on the outs, but he doesn’t give the Redskins anything they don’t have in better players. He is insurance only. Receivers (6) •Pierre Garcon •DeSean Jackson •Andre Roberts •Aldrick Robinson •Ryan Grant •Santana Moss I still dont think Leonard Hankerson will be ready to start the season on the active roster. I wonder about Robinson, but not the others. While some undrafted free agents have looked good in practice, I learned long ago not to go overboard until you see them in games. Robinson has had a quiet camp in too many regards. Tight ends (3) •Jordan Reed •Logan Paulsen •Niles Paul Rookie tight end Ted Bolser had a good day Saturday, or at least a good couple of plays. He looks better than in the spring, which is a good sign. Hes still learning the details of blocking, etc., and it could be hard to keep four tight ends this year. Bolser is a good candidate for the practice squad. Offensive line (10) •Trent Williams •Shawn Lauvao •Kory Lichtensteiger •Chris Chester •Tyler Polumbus •Morgan Moses •Spencer Long •Josh LeRibeus •Tom Compton •Mike McGlynn In reality, I could see them keeping only nine offensive linemen. At this point its hard to know which one would be cut. Theyre not cutting the rookies of course. And LeRibeus looks much better than last summer (working at both guard spots). Compton is a little surprise, but they like him as well and hes looked solid for the most part. I also would be concerned if they needed a backup tackle; not sold that Moses would be ready. Defensive line (6) •Barry Cofield •Jason Hatcher •Chris Baker •Stephen Bowen •Jarvis Jenkins •Kedric Golston This one is fluid as well because it depends in part on Bowen’s health. I like Chris Neild and so do they, but can they keep him? Golston is more versatile and a key player on special teams, but he’s also 30 and they must get younger at some point. But he still helps in too many ways. Clifton Geathers and Neild will factor in here. Linebackers (9) •Ryan Kerrigan •Brian Orakpo •Perry Riley •Keenan Robinson •Trent Murphy •Darryl Sharpton •Adam Hayward •Rob Jackson •Akeem Jordan I wasnt going to include Brandon Jenkins this week (easy to say, right?) because he did not take any step up from the spring. Just frustrated the coaches too much. For now Im going with Jackson, but I dont think thats a lock by any means. Adrian Robinson is one to watch here. The tough call is inside. They really like Will Compton, and I think he somehow finds his way onto the roster. But this needs to develop. I think there will be an interesting decision made inside. Cornerbacks (5) •DeAngelo Hall •David Amerson •Tracy Porter •E.J. Biggers •Bashaud Breeland Chase Minnifield remains eligible for the practice squad and has looked solid in camp. Richard Crawford is coming off a knee injury and needs time to get his game back. The one benefit for Crawford is that he can play in the slot; they need depth at that spot. Breeland has worked there as well however. Safeties (4) •Ryan Clark •Brandon Meriweather •Phillip Thomas •Bacarri Rambo I did not include Rambo on the original list, but did so now. Why? I havent seen Trenton Robinson do anything and for now Rambo is working with the second defense. Therefore, Im going with him for now. Akeem Davis still looks like a practice squader. Specialists (3) •Kai Forbath •Nick Sundberg •Robert Malone The Forbath selection is based on never having seen rookie Zach Hocker kick in an NFL game. Thats what I said in the original post and nothing has changed. If Hocker is consistent this summer and shows a strong leg, then he can win the job. Thus far hes looked good. =================================== Philadelphia Eagles projected roster July, 28, 2014 By Phil Sheridan | ESPN With training camp now under way, heres a look at how the Eagles final 53-man roster could pan out: QUARTERBACKS (3) •Nick Foles •Mark Sanchez •Matt Barkley A year ago, Foles competed for the starting job with Michael Vick. Now the competition is between Sanchez and Barkley for the No. 2 spot. Put your money on Sanchez. The Eagles wouldn’t have signed him to be the third quarterback. RUNNING BACKS (4) •LeSean McCoy •Darren Sproles •Chris Polk •Matthew Tucker It won’t be surprising if the Eagles go with only three backs here, as Chip Kelly has been talking Sproles up as a running back since signing him. But if Sproles slides around the field as Kelly finds interesting matchups for him as a receiver, the Eagles may need depth behind McCoy. Rookie Henry Josey belongs in the picture, too. WIDE RECEIVERS (5) •Jeremy Maclin •Riley Cooper •Jordan Matthews •Josh Huff •Brad Smith This is a confusing position because of all the offseason churn. DeSean Jackson and Jason Avant are gone. Cooper is more established. Maclin is returning from injury. Matthews could develop into the best of the bunch. Ifeanyi Momah and Jeff Maehl are in the mix, too. TIGHT ENDS (3) •Brent Celek •Zach Ertz •James Casey Ertz should continue his ascent to the No. 1 slot here, but Celek’s completeness as a blocker and receiver make him tough to write off. It wouldn’t be shocking if somebody (Emil Igwenagu?) persuaded Kelly to move on from Casey, who probably wonders why he signed in Philadelphia last year. OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (10) •Jason Peters •Evan Mathis •Jason Kelce •Todd Herremans •Andrew Gardner •Allen Barbre •Matt Tobin •Michael Bamiro •Dennis Kelly •Julian Vandervelde Lane Johnson will be on the Eagles roster this year, just not for the first four weeks due to his PED suspension. Pencil in Andrew Gardner, a free agent formerly with the Texans, instead. Gardner opened camp as the second-team left tackle. DEFENSIVE LINE (6) •Fletcher Cox •Bennie Logan •Beau Allen •Cedric Thornton •Taylor Hart •Joe Kruger This is actually a tough group to project. Kruger spent his rookie year on IR, so he’s kind of a wild card. The coaches seemed high on Hart, who played for Kelly and line coach Jerry Azzinaro at Oregon. Allen is a draft pick. All three could make the team, but then, so could Damion Square. LINEBACKERS (8) •Connor Barwin •DeMeco Ryans •Mychal Kendricks •Trent Cole •Marcus Smith •Jason Phillips •Bryan Braman •Najee Goode The big issue here is how long it takes first-round pick Smith to progress to a point where he could start ahead of Cole. It might take the whole season. And then there is the idea of giving Ryans some downtime, which could get Goode on the field quite a bit. Phillips and Braman are mostly special-teams guys. SAFETIES (6) •Nate Allen •Malcolm Jenkins •Earl Wolff •Keelan Johnson •Chris Maragos •Ed Reynolds That seems like a lot of safeties, but Maragos was signed for special teams, and the coaches like Reynolds enough to carry the fifth-round pick as he develops. Johnson could be the odd man out. CORNERBACKS (5) •Cary Williams •Bradley Fletcher •Nolan Carroll •Brandon Boykin •Jaylen Watkins In Year 2 of a total redo at this position, the Eagles will let merit sort things out with this group. Williams and Fletcher were adequate last year but now have Carroll pushing them both. Boykin established himself as a solid nickel corner. The coaches are high on Watkins, a rookie from Florida. Roc Carmichael could force his way onto the roster, as well. SPECIALISTS (3) •Alex Henery •Donnie Jones •Jon Dorenbos These three mainstays all figure to be back. Henery is working on kickoffs, which would help the coverage unit immensely. Jones had a solid season punting the ball, and Dorenbos remains automatic at long-snapping. =================================== Dallas Cowboys projected roster July, 28, 2014 By Todd Archer | ESPN IRVING, Texas -- Examining the Dallas Cowboys roster: QUARTERBACKS (2) •Tony Romo •Brandon Weeden Romos health will be something that will be monitored throughout camp and perhaps it could force the Cowboys to carry a third quarterback on the 53-man roster as insurance. That would benefit Caleb Hanie, who joined the team in April, or undrafted rooke Dustin Vaughan. The Cowboys havent kept three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster since 2011, but they dont want to get caught needing a quarterback if something were to happen to Romo and Weeden had to start. For now, however, the plan is to stick with two on the 53. RUNNING BACKS (4) •DeMarco Murray •Lance Dunbar •Joseph Randle •Tyler Clutts Murray had a fumble on his second carry of team drills, but ball security has not been an issue for him in his career. Dunbar has shown up well. Randles vision and quick feet give him an edge, to me, in this system. He makes it to the hole quicker than Ryan Williams, who is built a little more powerfully. Both players will have to work on pass protection. The fullback role remains in Clutts possession. Its been too early to see much from the fullbacks. WIDE RECEIVERS (5) •Dez Bryant •Terrance Williams •Cole Beasley •Dwayne Harris •Devin Street These five remain unchanged, but Jamar Newsome bears some watching as camp goes on. He looks the part. He has decent speed and he has decent hands. It will be interesting to see how he handles the preseason games. TIGHT ENDS (3) •Jason Witten •Gavin Escobar •James Hanna The Cowboys added Dallas Walker before coming to camp, but he is more about saving the legs of the top three guys. There is a clear gap from Hanna and Walker and Jordan Najvar. I believe the Cowboys will still be looking for more of a blocker as camp goes on. OFFENSIVE LINE (9) •Tyron Smith •Mackenzy Bernadeau •Travis Frederick •Zack Martin •Doug Free •Ronald Leary •Jermey Parnell •Darrion Weems •Uche Nwaneri Nwaneri takes the final spot over Brian Clarke from the first projection to open camp. This will likely flip flop throughout camp and the preseason. A lot of it will depend on injuries among the top eight linemen and cost. If a younger player emerges, like Clarke or Ronald Patrick, then they could win that last spot. Leary is battling a hamstring strain that has kept him out the first few days of camp, so Bernadeau is getting the jump on the left guard position with the first team. DEFENSIVE LINE (10) •George Selvie •Henry Melton •Terrell McClain •DeMarcus Lawrence •Jeremy Mincey •Tyrone Crawford •Ben Gardner •Davon Coleman •Ken Bishop •Martez Wilson Sticking with the same 10 players for now. Gardner injured his shoulder in the first practice and could need some time to heal before he gets back to practice. That could hurt his chances and help somebody like a Ben Bass or Caesar Rayford. Coleman could be the latest of the Cowboys undrafted finds. He is active but before we get too carried away we need to see how he performs against better than backup competition. LINEBACKER (7) •Bruce Carter •Justin Durant •Kyle Wilber •DeVonte Holloman •Anthony Hitchens •Rolando McClain •Will Smith I dont like carrying seven linebackers right now, but Im sticking with it. McClain took second-team middle linebacker snaps, which was surprising considering he was not with the club in the offseason. The Cowboys will give him every chance to show his potential and are hoping the talent is there. He made a tackle on his first snap in team run drills, shaking off a block and bringing down the runner. CORNERBACK (5) •Brandon Carr •Orlando Scandrick •Morris Claiborne •Sterling Moore •Terrance Mitchell Carr has not been at camp as he tended to his ailing mother. Claiborne came out as fired up as he had been in his first two years on the first practice. He knows the importance of the season. For now Ive got five corners, but Im going to look to see if it is worth keeping a sixth. Tyler Patmon and B.W. Webb would be in that mix. SAFETY (5) •Barry Church •J.J. Wilcox •Jeff Heath •Jakar Hamilton •Ahmad Dixon Dixon gets the final spot, but he would be out if I do go with six corners for the next projection. And he also needs to watch undrafted rookie Ryan Smith. Hes splitting time on the third team with Dixon right now. This spot wont shake out until the preseason ends. SPECIALISTS (3) •Dan Bailey •Chris Jones •L.P. Ladouceur No change here. Not sure there will be a change all camp.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 13:45:59 +0000
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