The Eagles released cornerback Trevor Williams and waived center Keegan Render, the team announced on Tuesday. One of these moves is surprising. The other is not.
Render was signed by the Eagles as an undrafted free agent after the 2019 NFL Draft and spent training camp with the Eagles. He rejoined the team in Week 7 of the 2019 season, signing to the practice squad. He was a long shot to make the roster but could have competed to keep his spot on the practice squad.
Trevor Williams is the surprising move here. Even after acquiring Darius Slay, the Eagles are very thin at the cornerback position. After Slay, it looked like Avonte Maddox, Sidney Jones, Rasul Douglas, and Williams would be competing for the number two corner spot, with Maddox being the favorite.
Here is what Bleeding Green Nation wrote about Williams recently:
Williams is an interesting under-the-radar player on the roster. The 26-year-old has 27 career starts in 39 games played. Injury issues have hampered him over the past two years but maybe he’s finally healthy and ready to push for a backup spot. Could be a quality depth piece to have on the team.
The Eagles might not be done cutting players
On Monday, the Eagles released QB/WR Khalil Tate, an undrafted rookie free agent who joined the team back in May. After cutting Williams and Render loose on Tuesday, they only have 87 players are on their active roster. The maximum allowed is 90.
Most years, pretty much every team utilizes the full 90 spots heading into training camp. Some are camp bodies and practice squad candidates, but the teams like to get a look at as many players as possible.
This year, with the COVID-19 concerns, more teams might be trimming down their rosters before training camp begins. It looks like the Eagles will be one of those teams.
UPDATE: According to NFL insider Adam Caplan, Render is done playing:
