Eagles should not get rid of Andre Dillard or Jalen Reagor

The Eagles asked first-round failure Andre Dillard to become physically stronger and emotionally more stable.

He did both.

The Eagles asked first-round failure Jalen Reagor to become a more precise route runner, to improve his fitness, and to get his mind right. He did all three of those things.

Neither will start this season. Both might barely play in the 17 games. That’s irrelevant.

Second cuts came down Tuesday in NFL camps. Both survived. Neither was released nor traded.

Final cuts come next Tuesday. Both should survive. Neither should be released nor traded.

Not for a top-tier running back like Kareem Hunt, which is what Dillard might bring. Not for a midround draft pick, which currently is the ceiling of Reagor’s worth.

There is scar tissue in Philadelphia, and this coaching staff drafted neither Dillard nor Reagor, but this staff should recognize the value of depth. If anyone in the NFL should value depth, it should be Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, whose deepest team won the franchise its only Super Bowl.

Roseman rode an anonymous linebacker, a fifth-round tackle, and a journeyman second-string quarterback to the top of the mountain. Dillard and Reagor are much better backup bets than Najee Goode, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, and Nicholas Edward Foles.

Joe Gibbs won three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks in an era during which quarterbacks were given little more protection or appreciation than running backs. It was Gibbs who said, “The second most important person on the team is the backup quarterback.”

The game has since evolved so as to make the passer an even more precious commodity. As such, the passer’s targets, and especially his protectors, have risen in value commensurately. It could be argued, then, that backup tackles are nearly as important as backup quarterbacks.

That’s why the Eagles should hang on to Dillard.

Drafted in 2019 as Jason Peters’ eventual replacement, Dillard took 180 snaps as the starter in three games at left tackle and posted above-average grades, according to profootballfocus.com. He tore his biceps in training camp in 2020 and he watched Jordan Mailata win the job for good, But in 2021, in four starts as Mailata’s replacement, Dillard posted better numbers than he did in 2019.

He’s looked even better at training camp this summer.

» READ MORE: Andre Dillard may be traded — Jalen Reagor, too — but the Eagles’ former first rounders know how far they’ve come

So has Reagor. It’s easy to dismiss him. He spent his first two seasons in bad shape with a bad attitude and posted modest numbers. It’s easy to diminish him in the shadow of Justin Jefferson, the Vikings’ transcendent third-year receiver taken one spot behind Reagor, who was a reach at No. 21 in 2020. But Reagor has caught 64 passes for 695 yards and three touchdowns. That’s not nothing.

It’s hard to ignore the scar tissue Dillard and Reagor have developed in Philadelphia.

Reagor’s most infamous drop came last season at the Giants, a last-minute whiff that might have been a touchdown catch.

Dillard notoriously observed in 2019 that his mind might not be able to handle playing right tackle. Then he went out and proved it.

Don’t dwell on Dillard’s limitations. If right tackle Lane Johnson gets hurt, Mailata can play the right side, so Dillard can play the left.

Besides, neither Mailata nor Johnson is completely dependable.

Johnson missed four games in 2014 to a PED suspension, then missed 10 more for testing positive again in 2016. The next positive test will cost him an entire season.

Johnson also missed 13 games in 2019 and 2020 due to chronic ankle issues. He missed three games last season to deal with complications from his mental health issues. He’s also 32.

Mailata missed the 2019 season with a back injury. He missed two games last season with a knee injury.

These are not ironmen.

The Eagles look solid at receiver for the moment, headed by veteran A.J. Brown and second-year sensation DeVonta Smith and backed up by Zach Pascal and Quez Watkins. But retaining a fast fifth receiver with experience as a kick returner seems like an easy decision.

That’s doubly true since it would cost about $6 million against the salary cap to cut Reagor this season and about $3.6 million to trade him. It will cost about $3.6 million against the cap to simply retain Reagor. It would cost about $4 million against the cap to cut Dillard and about $1.75 million to trade him.

Reagor’s only 23, and he could be a much more valuable player or trade piece in 2023 if he has a decent 2022 season.

Between Johnson’s age and issues, and between Mialata’s back and knee, Dillard could wind up being a bargain.