Eagles Bring Back Thornton to Round Out Practice Squad

The Eagles roster is set – for now.

On Monday the Eagles ended an eventful Labor Day weekend by adding three players to their practice squad.

The trio of practice squanders is headlined by DT Cedric Thornton. The 23-year-old rookie was a surprise on the Eagles 53-man roster. But he was waived after the Eagles added former Colts OG Kyle DeVan Sunday. Thornton cleared waivers and is back with the Birds on the practice team.

TE Anthony Hill and WR Ronald Johnson were also named to the practice squad Monday.

Hill, 26, has appeared in five games for the Texans over the past two seasons since he was drafted by Houston in the fourth round of the 2009 draft. The 6-foot-6, 277-pounder was waived by the Texans as part of final roster cuts.

Johnson, a sixth-round choice of the 49ers in April’s draft, was cut by San Francisco over the weekend. The 23-year-old racked up 3,501 total yards in four seasons at USC. The 5-foot-11, 199-pounder was not only a receiver but also a punt returner in college, which could be a valuable tool on an Eagles team without a true punt returner on the active roster.

New O-Lineman Feels at Home

DeVan also was in the Eagles locker room Monday where he spoke with reporters.

“I’m just happy to be here, happy to have a job, happy to be part of a great organization in a city that’s historically known for great fans and great football.”

DeVan should feel right at home in Philly not just because offensive line coach Howard Mudd was his coach in Indianapolis and CB Brandon Hughes was his college teammate at Oregon State but because one of the defensive guys he will be facing in practice is an old high school opponent in another sport.

“Me and [DT] Trevor Laws wrestled against each other in high school and played each other in college and at the NFL level. I went to Vacaville High School in California, we flew out to Minnesota, and me and him, we got to wrestle each other.

He won by a point, but I got homered. I didn’t get my take down at the end of the match [laughing]. It’s unfortunate but we’ve known each other for a decade.”

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