Eagles, Cre’Von LeBlanc Agree To Extension
The Eagles and Cre’Von LeBlanc have agreed to a one-year extension, per a team announcement. LeBlanc is now locked in through the 2020 season.
The cornerback joined the Eagles off waivers from the Lions last year and quickly impressed. This year, he’s in the mix with fellow Philly CBs Ronald Darby, Avonte Maddox, Sidney Jones, and Rasul Douglas. An even larger role could loom in 2020, if all goes well.
Last year, LeBlanc recorded 24 tackles across eight games (four starts). Previous to that, he saw time in 28 games for Chicago between 2016 and 2017 and three contests for the Lions in ’18.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/2/19
We’ll keep track of Monday’s practice squad moves here:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB Jamal Carter, WR Brandon Powell
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: G Sam Jones
- Released: QB Drew Anderson, WR A.J. Richardson
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: QB Davis Webb, WR Tyron Johnson, LB Nate Hall
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: OT Wyatt Miller
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: WR Ventell Bryant, QB Clayton Thorson
Detroit Lions
- Signed: LB Jason Cabinda
- Released: TE Austin Traylor
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: LB Jamal Davis, RB Quinton Flowers, DT Brian Price, WR Chad Williams
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: QB Chase Litton
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DB Alex Brown, LB Emmanuel Smith, DE Cameron Malveaux, DB Torry McTyer
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: OT Zach Sterup, LB Terrill Hanks
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: WR Davion Davis
New England Patriots
- Signed: DE Gerri Green, G Najee Toran, G Colby Gossett
- Released: OT Tyree St. Louis
New York Giants
- Signed:CB Corn Elder, WR David Sills
New York Jets
- Signed: RB Josh Adams and TE Ian Bunting WR/KR Greg Dortch
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: WR Marcell Ateman, DE Quinton Bell, G Lester Cotton, Sr., RB Damarea Crockett, WR Rico Gafford, CB Dylan Mabin, CB Nick Nelson, LB Justin Phillips, DT Anthony Rush, TE Eric Saubert
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: CB Craig James
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: WR Johnny Holton
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: OT Ryan Pope
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: CB Ryan Neal, OL Kahlil McKenzie, DE Jachai Polite
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: TE Jordan Leggett, RB Tony Brooks-James
Washington Redskins
- Signed: LB Chris Odom
Four Teams Wanted Wendell Smallwood
Of all the players to hit the waiver wire over the weekend, Wendell Smallwood was the most popular. Before the former Eagles running back was ultimately grabbed by the Redskins, the Colts, Jaguars, and Bengals all placed claims on him, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter).
The Redskins quietly boast a deep running back group with redshirt rookie Derrius Guice, future Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson, pass-catching specialist Chris Thompson, Byron Marshall, and Smallwood. Fun fact: No Eagles RB had more rushing yards over the last three years than Smallwood.
He would have been a logical fit for the Colts, Jags, and Bengals as well. For the Bengals, Smallwood would have provided depth behind Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard in the wake of Rodney Anderson’s season-ending torn ACL. The Colts, meanwhile, only just got Jordan Wilkins back on the practice field and they still await Jonathan Williams‘ return. And the Jaguars, who just had to place Alfred Blue on IR, likely preferred Smallwood to Tyler Ervin and Devine Ozigbo, the two RBs they picked up on Sunday.
Chris Banjo Visiting Eagles
Special teams specialist Chris Banjo will meet with the Eagles on Monday, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Saints dropped Banjo from the roster over the weekend, putting a scrappy safety in the mix for 31 other teams. 
As a vested veteran, Banjo did not have to pass through the waiver wire before gaining contractual freedom. His stat line rarely shows it, but Banjo is a bonafide difference maker in the third facet of the game.
The Saints, it seemed, had big plans for Banjo after he re-signed on a one-year, $6.9MM deal with $2.65MM guaranteed. That wasn’t meant to be, but he could quickly catch on with another NFC contender.
Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC East
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC East teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, and Redskins are noted below.
Additionally, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads today. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.
Here are Sunday’s NFC East transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.
New York Giants
- Claimed:
- WR Cody Core
- OL Eric Smith
- Waived:
- WR Alonzo Russell
- OL Brian Mihalik
- Signed to practice squad:
- DL Freedom Akinmoladun
- OL Evan Brown
- LB Jake Carlock
- TE C.J. Conrad
- RB Jon Hilliman
- DT Chris Slayton
- LB Josiah Tauaefa
- WR Reggie White Jr.
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed to practice squad:
- TE Alex Ellis
- WR Marcus Green
- DT Bruce Hector
- QB Kyle Lauletta
- G Sua Opeta
- TE Josh Perkins
- RB Boston Scott
- LB Alex Singleton
- WR Greg Ward
Washington Redskins
- Claimed:
- Waived:
- Placed on IR:
- LB Jordan Brailford
- RB Shaun Wilson
- Signed to practice squad:
- CB Adonis Alexander
- DE Ryan Bee
- WR Jehu Chesson
- TE J.P. Holtz
- T Timon Parris
- S Jeremy Reaves
- RB Craig Reynolds
- WR Cam Sims
- LB Darrell Williams
Eagles Reach 53-Man Limit
The Eagles have gotten down to 53, making some notable cuts to get there. The team released guard/center Stefen Wisniewski, who they re-signed to a $1.5MM deal back in May. He had gotten $150K guaranteed, so Philly will eat that. Wisniewski had started at least six games in each of the past three seasons for the Eagles.
To help thin out their crowded running backs room, they got rid of a few well-known names. They waived Josh Adams, who rushed for 511 yards for them last year, as well as 2017 fourth-round pick Donnel Pumphrey, who has battled injuries ever since entering the league. They also cut Wendell Smallwood, who had 364 yards rushing and three touchdowns and another 230 yards and two touchdowns through the air last year.
Offensive tackle Brett Toth also failed to make the team. Toth only recently got permission from the Army to join the NFL, and he signed with the Eagles only a couple weeks ago. He seems like a prime candidate for a practice squad spot.
Aside from that, and other announced moves, the Eagles made the following roster moves over the weekend to reach the 53-player limit:
Waived:
CB Ajene Harris
CB Josh Hawkins
T Riley Mayfield
WR Greg Ward
LB Chris Worley
Released the following players:
TE Will Tye
Reserve/PUP
CB Jalen Mills
Four Teams Interested In LeSean McCoy
The Chiefs are going to face some competition if they plan on pursuing LeSean McCoy. McCoy was cut by the Bills earlier this morning, and we heard soon after that Kansas City had some interest.
The Chargers, Eagles, and Patriots are also showing strong early interest in McCoy, sources told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). As Rapoport points out, the Chargers are interested because of the ongoing Melvin Gordon holdout. Just a few hours ago, it was reported that the Chargers had given Gordon permission to seek a trade. As of right now, Los Angeles is slated to roll with youngsters Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson if Gordon doesn’t report for the regular season.
The Eagles traded for Jordan Howard earlier this offseason and drafted Miles Sanders in the second-round back in April, but they apparently aren’t satisfied completely with their running back group. The position was a weakness all of last year for them, so it makes sense why they’d want to bolster it as much as possible. McCoy, of course, started his career with the Eagles and spent his first six years in Philly, so there’s some familiarity there.
The Patriots have Sony Michel topping the depth chart, James White as their pass-catching specialist, and they also drafted Damien Harris in the third-round. All of these suitors are projected playoff teams, so it looks like McCoy will have his pick of contenders when he chooses where to play in 2019.
Eagles To Cut DE Eli Harold
Three weeks after acquiring Eli Harold from the Bills, the Eagles will not carry him through to their 53-man roster. The Eagles will release the veteran edge defender, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
The team will also place tight end Richard Rodgers on IR and waive quarterback Cody Kessler. The Eagles only gave up undrafted rookie offensive tackle Ryan Bates for Harold, so it’s not like they had a particularly big investment in him. Harold was originally drafted by San Francisco in the third-round back in 2015, and spent last year with the Lions. He had four sacks with Detroit last year and the Eagles were looking for pass-rushing depth, but they apparently didn’t like what they saw from the 25-year-old. For his career, he has nine career sacks in 61 games and 25 starts
Kessler was drafted by the Browns in 2016, then traded to Jacksonville last offseason. He surprisingly ended up starting four games for the Jaguars last year, but he averaged a pitiful 5.4 yards per attempt. He was trying to make the team in Philly, but the Eagles luring Josh McCown out of retirement all but sealed his fate. Rodgers has made some noise in the past with Green Bay, but he’ll now miss the entire 2019 campaign with a foot injury.
Eagles Cut CB Orlando Scandrick
The Eagles are cutting cornerback Orlando Scandrick (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Scandrick, who spent years with the rival Cowboys, joined Philly earlier this summer.
At the time of signing, the back-half of the Eagles’ defense was badly banged up. Things have improved on that front, so the veteran’s services were no longer needed.
After playing the first ten years of his career with the Cowboys, Scandrick signed a two-year, $10MM deal with the Redskins last offseason. He didn’t even make it out of camp with them before he was released. Then, he was then scooped up by the Chiefs. He played out the year in Kansas City’s league-worst secondary, making seven starts.
Colts, Texans, Browns Lead NFL In Cap Space
On Tuesday morning, the NFL released a report of every team’s cap space. The total number accounts for the top-51 cap numbers on every team’s roster. Therefore, these numbers will naturally change before next week as teams set their 53-man rosters (although the 52nd- and 53rd-ranked cap numbers (and beyond) for each team will hardly change anything).
It’s also worth noting that there have been a handful of extensions, trades, signings, and cuts since this report was released. However, there weren’t any significant moves that would drastically alter these rankings.
Why are these numbers important at this time of year? Well, rosters will be trimmed on Saturday, meaning an influx of players will hit the open market. While we can’t imagine any roster casualties earning a lucrative contract from a new team, these numbers can help illustrate the monetary advantage one organization has over another. These numbers are also useful in regards to any potential trades or extensions.
With help from TheMMQB.com’s Albert Breer on Twitter, we’ve listed the league’s cap space totals (as of Tuesday morning) below:
- Indianapolis Colts: $56.6MM
- Houston Texans: $37.0MM
- Cleveland Browns: $34.6MM
- Dallas Cowboys: $26.1MM
- Tennessee Titans: $26.0MM
- San Francisco 49ers: $25.5MM
- Buffalo Bills: $23.3MM
- Miami Dolphins: $22.1MM
- Chicago Bears: $22.1MM
- Washington Redskins: $21.7MM
- Detroit Lions: $21.5MM
- Kansas City Chiefs: $21MM
- Cincinnati Bengals: $19.7MM
- Seattle Seahawks: $19.5MM
- Philadelphia Eagles: $18.6MM
- Jacksonville Jaguars: $18.2MM
- Oakland Raiders: $17.3MM
- Los Angeles Chargers: $16.4MM
- Green Bay Packers: $15.2MM
- New York Jets: $14.9MM
- New England Patriots: $14.1MM
- Baltimore Ravens: $13.4MM
- New Orleans Saints $7.5MM
- Carolina Panthers $5.9MM
- Los Angeles Rams $5.6MM
- New York Giants $5.5MM
- Pittsburgh Steelers $4.9MM
- Minnesota Vikings $4.7MM
- Arizona Cardinals $4.7MM
- Denver Broncos $4.4MM
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers $4.3MM
- Atlanta Falcons $3.4MM