‘Ready for the moment’: Emotional Eagles describe life on the roster bubble ahead of NFL cut day

At the conclusion of the preseason finale that the Eagles lost, 27-13, to the Indianapolis Colts, a mix of players, coaches, and front office executives retreated to the home locker room, tucked underneath the main concourse at Lincoln Financial Field.

Thursday evening’s events followed suit with coach Nick Sirianni’s game plan from the first two preseason games, as quarterback Jalen Hurts and the rest of the starters did not see any action. When the set of double doors leading into the locker room opened to reporters, a majority of the Eagles’ key players, including Hurts, had already departed the stadium.

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However, veteran center Jason Kelce lingered and he casually spoke with onlookers, standing from the middle of the room. Kelce’s mood was noticeably light; he sported a bright red University of Cincinnati T-shirt and he briefly discussed his upcoming feature-length documentary that will premiere on Prime Video Sept. 12. While Kelce flashed a wide smile, the mood of other players across the room was ... a mixed bag.

Over the next few days, general manager Howie Roseman will be forced to make a handful of tough decisions with roster cutdown day rapidly approaching. All NFL teams must trim their rosters from 90 to 53 players by 4 p.m. Tuesday.

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Here’s a peek at life on the bubble, as told by some of the Eagles.

Johnson, a reserve offensive tackle who also has some experience playing at guard, likely solidified his spot on the roster ahead of the preseason finale. He was initially released — with his contract terminated by the team — on Thursday. But by Friday afternoon, Johnson agreed to a new two-year contract with the Eagles.

Johnson joined the Eagles as a practice-squad member last November . Over the past four years, he had stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and played in 28 games for the Bengals and Bucs. Friday marked the first time in his career the 6-foot-7 undrafted lineman out of Florida had signed a multiyear contract.

Johnson became emotional as he described the past 24 hours.

“After five years, I was wondering if I was a journeyman,” he said. “This is the best opportunity I’ve had in my five years of playing where there’s no politics or anything. Everybody gets a shot; everybody gets a chance, and I took my chance and ran with it.

“It’s been the most locked-in camp I think I’ve had. I did whatever they asked me to do. … The way [offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland] taught me was what I needed for my body type. He honed in with what I’m gifted with. … I came in when they were still undefeated [last season] and I kind of questioned, ‘Why did they bring me in?’ But their belief and passion with how this team goes — you’ve got to trust the coaches and what ‘Stout’ was teaching.

“It’s a great feeling. Honestly, everywhere else I’ve been — I’ve been waived; I’ve been picked back up and waived again. It’s only so much you can do before you start thinking, ‘Damn, am I really worth it?’ When I came in here, I took the opportunity. To feel wanted, it motivated me that much more to go hard and make this home.”

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Allen broke an initial tackle and he ripped off a 73-yard return on the opening kickoff Thursday, putting the Eagles in great field position at the Colts’ 27. Six plays later, Trey Sermon capitalized on Allen’s return with a 1-yard rushing touchdown to give the Eagles an early 7-0 lead.

“That was probably my first kickoff return in seven or eight years,” Allen said. “I’m not going to hear the end of it from my track friends getting caught [before reaching the end zone]. The adrenaline was crazy because my legs felt super heavy at the end of that run. … It was pretty special with the group we had out there today. We were getting after it.”

Allen, 28, started camp on the non-football injury list. The Olympian, who returned to his track career during the offseason, withdrew from the 110-meter hurdles at the USATF Championships in July after tweaking a calf muscle. Allen had participated in the event in the last two Olympics, and he was attempting to qualify for this year’s World Championships.

On Aug. 8, Allen was activated from the non-football injury list and he returned to practice.

“I didn’t feel too far behind in terms of football knowledge,” said Allen, who broke in with the practice squad last year. “Being here in the program, the offense here, it helped a lot in terms of knowing what I was doing — that was the biggest hoop I had to jump through last year. After getting healthy, it was about getting my legs under myself and feeling confident with moving around.”

In addition to his electric kickoff return, he also had a picture-perfect rep at gunner. Allen jetted past a pair of Colts defenders in front of the visitors’ sideline to register a tackle on Amari Rodgers for no gain on a punt return.

At this point, it feels like Allen could retain his spot on the practice squad if he’d like to stick around. It ultimately could be his decision based on how he wants to continue to handle his two-sport career.

“It’s tough because our offense is so high-powered,” he said. “There’s a lot of good guys on the offense…it’s tough, I’m trying to do my best with the job description given to me and when I get the opportunity. I think today obviously helped. My goal is continue to get better, I think with more reps I’ll continue to do that.”

Ricks, an undrafted rookie out of Alabama, stormed to the scene in the preseason opener with his pick-six off Ravens quarterback Anthony Brown. He rode that momentum throughout the summer and concluded the preseason with another stellar performance.

Following wide receiver Joseph Ngata’s fumble toward the end of the first half, the defense was unexpectedly thrust back onto the field. But Ricks helped force a key three-and-out with impressive reps on second and third down.

On the first passing play, Ricks maintained sticky coverage on Michael Pittman, who attempted to haul in a deep pass down the right sideline. The ball from Richardson was a tad overthrown, but Ricks was step-for-step with Pittman throughout the sequence. On the following play, Ricks had a pass breakup while he shadowed receiver Alec Pierce.

Considering Ricks’ strong play and that third-year cornerback Zech McPhearson recently sustained a torn Achilles, Ricks has a strong chance of earning a roster spot.

“During pregame, our coaches [defensive coordinator Sean Desai and defensive backs coach DK McDonald] said that [the Colts] were throwing all in-breaking routes,” Ricks said. “Richardson is a rookie quarterback and they wanted to make the reads easier for him. So I knew that going in, especially since it was a third down and they needed to convert, and that’s how the play happened.”

Ricks, who turns 22 next month, detailed his training-camp experience with utmost confidence: “It’s been great. I’m ready for the moment. I’m ready for if or when my name is called to the 53. That’s what I tried to prove everyday. That was my main focus. Trying to show why I should be here, why I belong here, and how much I can help this team.”