Howie Roseman was plagued with several tough decisions this past weekend as the Eagles and the rest of the NFL whittled their 90-man offseason rosters to the 53-player limit. He recognized that the Eagles would expose quality players to the waiver wire for the other 31 teams to potentially claim. Roseman wanted some of these players back on the practice squad, which he views as an extension of the active roster with the ability to call up players on gameday if needed.

"Adversity will strike us. Unfortunately, injuries are part of the game. Who that is, when that happens, all those stories are not yet written," Roseman said. "We are committed to patience and development."

On Monday afternoon, the NFL served Roseman another reminder of the job that he and his personnel staff have done in assembling the 2026 Philadelphia Eagles. Typically, just four percent of players waived during roster-cutdown weekend around the league are claimed. The Eagles had a league-high four players snatched by other teams – rookie defensive back Kapena Gushiken (Colts), tight end and special teamer Cameron Latu (Patriots), and offensive linemen Myles Hinton (Bengals) and Cameron Williams (Falcons) – at a rate of 15.4 percent, nearly four times the average.

"To be fair, we always anticipate that," Roseman said when he met with reporters on Monday afternoon after the initial announcement of 13 practice squad additions to the team, leaving the Eagles with four open spots. "Certainly, those percentages didn't apply to our roster over this weekend, unfortunately, but that's the risk of doing business and don't feel good about that. Don't feel good about losing those guys."

Roseman and the Eagles ensured they wouldn't lose a developmental quarterback by keeping rookie fifth-round pick Cole Payton on the 53-man roster. The Eagles (and their fans) can appreciate the backup quarterback position more than most, which is why the team kept all three backup quarterbacks behind Jalen Hurts – Payton, the savvy veteran in Andy Dalton, and the smart and talented Tanner McKee.

"The most important position in sports. I feel like all those guys have value for our team," Roseman said.

Among the players who are returning to the practice squad after clearing waivers are the two rookie defenders out of the International Pathway Program, defensive tackle Uar Bernard and outside linebacker Joshua Weru. Neither Bernard nor Weru played football before joining the Eagles – Bernard as a seventh-round draft pick and Weru as a rookie free agent. Both players made strides throughout the course of Training Camp and the preseason, but Roseman knows that outside of the joint practices with New England and preseason tape, they are still relative unknowns around the league. The Eagles have the benefit of working with them each day, while other teams would have to take a huge leap of faith to claim them and give them a spot on their active roster.

"I think sometimes we forget, Uar never played organized sports before. It's a different bar," Roseman said. "I think if we're just judging everyone through the lens of (former International Pathway Program player) Jordan Mailata, it's going to be hard to give these guys a fair chance. Still very excited about them, really glad that they did get through (waivers), certainly wasn't certain about that, but I'm glad they're back here."

The Eagles will be without cornerback Jakorian Bennett and tight end Grant Calcaterra for at least the first four weeks of the season as they were placed on Injured Reserve/Designated for Return. But the team did not place one of their top offseason additions in outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard on the Physically Unable to Perform list, meaning the outside linebacker is available to play when he is healthy. Greenard missed Training Camp and the preseason with a pectoral injury.

"We anticipate him playing sooner rather than later. What that timetable is, again, we'll keep close to the vest," Roseman said. "The guy's a tremendous football player. He's got tremendous ability to affect the quarterback. He's going to come back in tremendous shape. I think that you saw the D-line's obviously a position of emphasis for us always. The guy fits what we do. ... He's as advertised."

The most pleasant surprise for Roseman in Training Camp and the preseason was the development of the interior offensive line depth with Drew Kendall, Willie Lampkin, and rookie Micah Morris not just earning roster spots, but winning the trust of the coaching staff that they can be counted upon in game action. Roseman candidly admitted that this was a position that he was most intrigued to see up close during the summer.

"Those young guys and the growth that they showed, their ability to play in the passing game, in the run game. I mean, really, really excited about those guys, about being able to have those guys, being able to develop those guys, but at the same time, have confidence that if those guys need to play, that they're ready to play," Roseman added. "I was saying it, our interior O-Line depth, it was kind of in a different spot than it had been in years past, relying on some young guys to take a step. A lot of credit to (Offensive Line) Coach (Chris) Kuper and the guys around him for getting these guys ready to go. Feel like we're in a really good spot there and it was a concern going into camp."

The work isn't done for Roseman and his team. The Washington Commanders come to Lincoln Financial Field in less than two weeks to open the regular season on September 13 in an NFC East showdown. The Eagles will continue to add to the practice squad and monitor moves around the league as waiver claims affected the composition of several teams' rosters on Monday. If the Eagles can challenge the bottom of the roster or add an impact player, Roseman won't sit idly by with an opportunity to enhance what the league has shown is already a strong constellation of players.