Philadelphia

If Daeshon Hall Doesn't Make Eagles' Roster, What Are We Doing?

Daeshon Hall is going to sleep easy tonight. He's earned that and more. 

Because if the 24-year-old defensive end doesn't make the Eagles' roster based on his dominance this preseason, why are they even playing the games? 

Hall, who joined the Eagles during the season in 2018, was a standout throughout this preseason despite a nagging shoulder injury and a stinger he suffered on Thursday night. He led the Eagles in sacks (4), tackles for loss (4), QB hits (11) and forced fumbles (3) and he was among the league leaders in every category too. 

Heck, it seems like we shouldn't be talking about whether or not Hall has the roster made, but about what his role should be this season. 

Maybe that's why he isn't worried. 

"I'm relaxed," Halls said on Thursday night. "I feel like whatever is for me is for me. Whatever God has in store for me is going to happen. Whether that means me being here or me being on another team. I'll be grateful for whatever opportunity comes."

For a long time, it seemed like Hall might be the casualty of a numbers game. The Eagles have their top three defensive ends in Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett and Vinny Curry. And they used fourth-round picks in back-to-back years on Josh Sweat and Shareef Miller. Hall was once a third-round pick, but the Eagles didn't draft him. 

You can forget all that, though. Hall has done enough to earn a roster spot. And if he doesn't get it, the devalued preseason means even less than we thought. 

Doug Pederson has admitted that when the Eagles evaluate players, they care more about practice than games, but it should be impossible to ignore what Hall has been able to do over these four preseason games. Sure, you can argue the competition Hall faced wasn't great. He has been going against some players who will never play in the league, but so have Sweat and Miller. … And Hall simply outplayed both of them all summer. 

Hall was happy with his performance over the last month, but wouldn't say whether or not he thought he did enough to make the roster. That's a question for the coaches, he said. 

"I feel like I did a lot," Hall said, "but there's always plays you wish you could have back. Just like stuff with your technique and stuff you wish you could have back. I just tried to give my best effort."

The Eagles have to have their 90-man roster whittled down to 53 players by Saturday's 4 p.m. deadline, but Hall won't be sitting by his phone, stressing. He said he will be resting, catching up on some sleep. Maybe he'll watch some TV or a movie or play some video games. 

He's eagerly awaiting the release of NBA 2K20. The release date for that game is schedule for Sept. 6, two days before the Eagles open the season at home against Washington. 

I have a hunch he might be busy then. 



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