The Eagles on Monday released two more veteran defensive players who had been playing major roles.
Last week, they cut linebacker Zach Brown the day after the loss to the Vikings.
This week, the Eagles cut veteran CB Orlando Scandrick and veteran DT Akeem Spence the day after their 37-10 loss to the Cowboys. Both were added to the roster during September following injuries and both played a lot on Sunday night.
The Eagles on Monday also brought back DT Anthony Rush from the Raiders' practice squad. Rush was with the Eagles during training camp. They are also signing DT Albert Huggins from Houston's practice squad.
While Scandrick, 32, certainly didn't play well against the Cowboys, he did start and played 51 percent (36 snaps) of their defensive snaps.
Spence, 27, played 47 snaps against the Cowboys on Sunday.
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And this comes a week after Brown was cut the day after he played 58 snaps against the Vikings.
After two back-to-back blowout losses, the Eagles are not hesitating to send messages and get rid of dead weight.
Still, it's not a great sign that the Eagles have cut three veteran defensive players the day after blowout losses in consecutive weeks. It's an even worse sign that they were all playing a significant roles.
The Scandrick move is curious because it's not like the Eagles are flush with cornerback talent. Now, their two corners with the most experience at the nickel corner spot are Avonte Maddox and Sidney Jones.
Jones on Sunday was healthy but the Eagles played Craig James ahead of him, which was the plan, according to Doug Pederson. Jones, the former second-round pick, has struggled mightily this season. And Maddox is still in the concussion protocol from a friendly fire hit from Andrew Sendejo in the Green Bay game on Sept. 26. That injury is what led to the Eagles' signing Scandrick in the first place. So the fact that they were willing to release Scandrick before Maddox is back is strange.
Last year's nickel cornerback, Cre'Von LeBlanc (foot), could be nearing a return from IR, but he still won't be eligible to return until Week 9 against Chicago. That doesn't help this week against Buffalo.
The highlight of Scandrick's short stint in Philadelphia was his performance against the Jets and Luke Falk back on Oct. 6. In his first game off his couch, Scandrick had two sacks, two forced fumbles and returned one of them 44 yards for a touchdown. Now, it seems like he'll be a mere footnote from this season.
The timing of the Spence move is interesting too. Hassan Ridgeway suffered what sounds like a serious ankle injury against the Cowboys and the Eagles are really light at defensive tackle, especially because Tim Jernigan (foot) is still out. Without Spence, they're down to Fletcher Cox and Rush, whom the Eagles just signed on Monday.
You can add Scandrick and Spence to the long list of veteran acquisitions who didn't work out for Howie Roseman in the last couple of years. The Band-Aids aren't working.
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