Bruce Hector

Cardinals Reach 53-Man Max

Arizona has officially announced their cuts. Notably, the Cardinals trimmed their roster all the way down to 51 players, which they said was in preparation for waiver claims on Sunday. Arizona has first priority in the waiver order, so they’ll almost certainly be claiming some players.

The biggest name on this list is probably tight end Ricky Seals-Jones. He showed a lot of promise as an undrafted rookie in 2017, and was a favorite of Bruce Arians. He fell out of favor when Arians retired, and the new staff didn’t take as kindly to him. Seals-Jones has flashed serious potential, so he should land on his feet soon. Pharoh Cooper was a 2017 All-Pro selection for his return prowess, and the Cardinals claimed him off waivers from the Rams late last season. Three other teams also put in claims for Cooper at the time, so maybe one of them will scoop him up now. Receiver Chad Williams was the team’s third-round pick in 2017, but he barely got on the field during his two seasons in the desert.

QB Drew Anderson

QB Charles Kanoff

RB Wes Hills (injury settlement)

RB Dontae Strickland

WR Pharoh Cooper

WR Chad Williams

WR A.J. Richardson

WR Isaac Zico

OL Rees Odhiambo (waived/injured)

OL Colby Gossett

OL Coleman Shelton

OL William Sweet (waived/injured)

OL Parker Ehinger

OL Patrick Lawrence

OL Jacob Ohnesorge

TE Ricky Seals-Jones

TE Darrell Daniels

TE Caleb Wilson

TE Drew Belcher

DL Bruce Hector

DL Pasoni Tasini

DL Siupeli Anau

DL Sterling Bailey

S Jonathan Owens

S Tyler Sigler

CB Brandon Williams (waived/injured)

CB Nate Brooks

CB Deatrick Nichols

Eagles, Cardinals Swap S Rudy Ford, DT Bruce Hector

The Eagles and Cardinals have agreed to a trade. Safety Rudy Ford, who was a sixth-round pick in 2017, will head to Philadelphia. Defensive tackle Bruce Hector will head to Arizona, as NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (Twitter link).

Hector came into the league in 2018 out of the University of South Florida. He was not selected in the 2018 draft but found his way onto the Eagles’ roster, appearing in eight games as a rookie and recording a half-sack. The big man was unlikely to make Philadelphia’s final roster this year.

Ford, who played college ball at Auburn, hasn’t carved out a major role on defense during his two seasons in the league. The 5’11” safety has top level speed and has played on Arizona’s special teams.

Eagles Place CB Jalen Mills On IR

The foot injury that was expected to shut down Jalen Mills for the season prompted the Eagles to place the third-year cornerback on IR.

Philadelphia will shelve Mills for the rest of the season, and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets the team will promote defensive tackle Bruce Hector to its active roster.

Mills joins Ronald Darby as Eagles corners on IR. Clinging to NFC East title hopes going into a crucial game in Dallas, the defending champions aren’t as depleted as they recently were at this position. Sidney Jones returned to the Eagles’ lineup on Monday night. However, Avonte Maddox did not practice this week and is not expected to play. Jones and Rasul Douglas are expected to be Philadelphia’s top corners against the Cowboys.

A 2016 seventh-round pick, Mills has not played since October. Pro Football Focus graded Mills, Jones and Douglas near the bottom of the 2018 cornerback contingent. The Eagles rank 19th in pass defense DVOA. That said, Philly has managed back-to-back wins over NFC East competition — the second of which coming against a more injury-damaged Washington team.

One more season remains on Mills’ rookie contract. Hector is a rookie UDFA who has played in six games this season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/30/18

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Giants

Oakland Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

Eagles Release WR Kamar Aiken

The Eagles released wide receiver Kamar Aiken, per a club announcement. Aiken’s release will make room for defensive tackle Bruce Hector, who has been promoted from the practice squad. 

Aiken is best known for his 2015 season in which he put up nearly 1,000 yards with the Ravens. The former undrafted free agent hasn’t done much lately, however. In 2017, he was in line to be the Colts’ No. 2 wide receiver, but he finished out with just 15 receptions for 133 yards.

Philadelphia originally inked Aiken to a pact this summer, but dropped him during final cutdowns. Then, prior to Week 2, he was re-signed. In five games this year (one start), Aiken had six catches and 53 yards for the Eagles.

Hector, 24, joined the Eagles as a UDFA in May. He was on the roster for four games this year before being stashed on the practice squad, and he’ll look to record his first official statistic in this go ’round.

Haloti Ngata hasn’t played since Week 4 and is questionable for this week’s game against the Panthers, so Hector will be on hand for additional depth. If Ngata can’t go, Hector could see time behind Fletcher Cox and Treyvon Hester.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/4/18

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/2/18

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

Oakland Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Eagles Sign 15 UDFAs

One of the last teams to reveal their UDFA class, the Eagles announced 15 players comprise this group that will try to earn roster spots this year. Here’s the full rundown:

Representing a sizable portion of this class, four safeties will join the Eagles’ other three backup safeties — two 2017 UDFAs and veteran special-teamer Chris Maragos — in competing for roles behind Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod. However, Neal, Roberts and Reaves played cornerback as well. Roberts manned the slot at South Alabama, while Reaves earned Sun Belt defensive player of the year acclaim last season. Sanders, however, logged the most experience in being a Georgia starter for four years. He finished with 16 career interceptions. Brown also spent time at both safety and cornerback, despite being listed as a linebacker.

The Eagles also turned to smaller schools extensively here, with mid-major Division I-FBS or non-Division I programs producing eight of these 15 players. Rumors connected the Eagles to running backs in this draft. Instead, the team re-signed Darren Sproles and is bringing in a player who is coming off a 1,430-yard, nine-touchdown season with the Fighting Irish. The 213-pound Adams averaged 6.9 yards per carry as well as a true junior in 2017.

Hector received the highest base salary guarantee of this group, with the team giving him $55K guaranteed along with a $5K signing bonus. Adams received a $30K base guarantee and $25K to sign, and Sullivan a $35K base guarantee and $16K to sign (Twitter link via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe). Volin adds will see a $20K base guarantee and a $10K signing bonus. Ostman will also see $20K guaranteed, per Volin (on Twitter).