Eagles final defensive end spot down to Daeshon Hall, Shareef Miller and Josh Sweat ... for now
The Eagles dress four defensive ends for regular season games. Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett and Vinny Curry are the first three in the rotation.
The way Eagles coach Doug Pederson sees it, there are three players vying for the final defensive end spot on game days.
That fourth spot -- after Derek Barnett, Brandon Graham, and Vinny Curry -- has shaped up into an almost daily battle between Shareef Miller, Daeshon Hall and Josh Sweat.
Miller, this year’s fourth-round pick out of Penn State, is a sentimental favorite. The 22-year-old grew up in Frankford, played at George Washington High, had an older brother gunned down in West Philly four years ago, leans heavily on his mother, and cried when the Eagles won the Super Bowl.
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Hall, 24, has six NFL games on his resume’ and has the most special-teams experience among the three. Drafted in the third round by Carolina in 2017, he joined the Eagles in December and played in the final five games, including playoffs.
Sweat, the Eagles’ 2018 fourth-rounder, played in nine games last season before an ankle injury ended his season in Week 15. That’s when the Eagles signed Hall.
All three will be active for the preseason finale at the Meadowlands against the Jets.
“I’m looking forward to Thursday night to see how they play and if they give us that rush that we need,” said Pederson Tuesday.
This game of roster musical chairs is contingent on Eagles personnel boss Howie Roseman not pulling a clowney out of his hat and trading for a certain disgruntled Houston Texan who was the first overall pick five years ago. That would change everything.
The Eagles lost Chris Long to retirement and Michael Bennett signed with the Patriots.
The Eagles have kept five defensive ends on the opening roster each of the last two seasons. But four generally dress on game days. So the odd man out could be headed to the practice squad.
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“I just try to work hard and put some good stuff on tape,” Hall said. “It’s been fun, a lot of competition. We shall see what happens.”