To help thin out their crowded running backs room, they got rid of a few well-known names. They waived Josh Adams, who rushed for 511 yards for them last year, as well as 2017 fourth-round pick Donnel Pumphrey, who has battled injuries ever since entering the league. They also cut Wendell Smallwood, who had 364 yards rushing and three touchdowns and another 230 yards and two touchdowns through the air last year.

Offensive tackle Brett Toth also failed to make the team. Toth only recently got permission from the Army to join the NFL, and he signed with the Eagles only a couple weeks ago. He seems like a prime candidate for a practice squad spot.

Aside from that, and other announced moves, the Eagles made the following roster moves over the weekend to reach the 53-player limit:

Waived:

QB Clayton Thorson

WR Greg Ward

Dallas Cowboys

• T Jake Campos
• RB Jordan Chunn
• CB Treston DeCoud
• CB Donovan Olumba
• LB Kyle Queiro
• DT Aziz Shittu
• G Cody Wichmann

Los Angeles Chargers

• K/P Ty Long

New England Patriots

• OL Ryker Mathews

New York Giants

• OLB Avery Moss
• G Chad Slade

Philadelphia Eagles

• LB Asantay Brown
• C Anthony Fabiano
• G Kaleb Johnson
• CB Jeremiah McKinnon
• WR Braxton Miller
• WR Dorren Miller
• DE Joe Ostman
• RB Donnel Pumphrey
• CB Chandon Sullivan
• TE Will Tye

Seattle Seahawks

• DT Jamie Meder

Arizona Cardinals

• Signed: CB Deatrick Nichols

Atlanta Falcons

• Signed: OG Sean Harlow
• Cut: C J.C. Hassenauer

Cincinnati Bengals

• Signed: LB Brandon Bell

Cleveland Browns

• Signed: RB Devante Mays

Denver Broncos

• Cut: OG Avery Gennesy

Houston Texans

• Signed: OLB Daeshon Hall
• Cut: RB Josh Ferguson

Indianapolis Colts

• Signed: S Rolan Milligan
• Cut: QB Phillip Walker

Kansas City Chiefs

• Signed: LB Raymond Davison, T Pace Murphy

Los Angeles Rams

• Signed: WR Austin Proehl
• Cut: WR Steven Mitchell

Minnesota Vikings

• Signed: CB Jalen Myrick, OT Adam Bisnowaty
• Cut: DT Curtis Cothran
• Placed on injured list: DE Jonathan Wynn

Philadelphia Eagles

• Signed: RB Donnel Pumphrey

San Francisco 49ers

• Signed: WR Aaron Burbridge

Seattle Seahawks

• Signed: DB Justin Currie, OG J.J. Dielman
• Cut: RB Lavon Coleman, LB Azeem Victor

Chicago Bears

• CB Quinten Rollins (link)

Cleveland Browns

• C Jake Eldrenkamp (visit), WR Chad Hansen, WR Blake Jackson, WR Korey Robertson, WR Damore’ea Stringfellow (link)

Detroit Lions

• T Cole Gardner, G/T Austin Pasztor (link)

Indianapolis Colts

• WR K.J. Brent, WR Krishawn Hogan (link)

Jacksonville Jaguars

• TE Khari Lee, G Brandon Thomas (link)

Kansas City Chiefs

• WR Deontez Alexander, G Jeff Allen, WR J.J. Jones, WR Austin Proehl (link)

Miami Dolphins

• DE Will Clarke, DT Winston Craig, T Antonio Garcia, DE Alec James, T Dieugot Joseph, DT Lewis Neal, T Corey Robinson, DT DeShawn Williams (link)

New York Jets

• WR J.J. Jones, S Charlie Miller, RB Donnel Pumphrey, C Jon Toth, T Toby Weathersby, RB Ralph Webb (link)

Philadelphia Eagles

• LB B.J. Bello, S Ibraheim Campbell, DT Winston Craig (visit), CB Dexter McDougle, CB Quinten Rollins (Twitter links via Balzer and Sirius XM Radio’s Adam Caplan)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• LB Devante Bond (link)

Washington Redskins

• G Oday Aboushi, G J.J. Dielman, G John Jerry (link)

Baltimore Ravens

• Signed: DB Robertson Daniel
• Released: DE Myles Humphrey

Dallas Cowboys

• Signed: DT Christian Ringo

Detroit Lions

• Signed: TE Jerome Cunningham
• Released: RB Donnel Pumphrey

New England Patriots

• Signed: S David Jones
• Released: WR Jace Billingsley

New Orleans Saints

• Signed: CB Arrion Springs
• Released: QB J.T. Barrett

New York Giants

• Signed: WR Amba Etta-Tawo

San Francisco 49ers

• Signed: DE Ryan Delaire

Seattle Seahawks

• Signed: LB Azeem Victor

The former fourth-round pick, however, won’t join Detroit’s active roster just yet. He’s being added to the practice squad, Rapoport adds (via Twitter). Pumphrey’s potential as a return man intrigues the Lions, per Garafolo (on Twitter).

Pumphrey’s next NFL game will be his first. He missed all of his rookie season due to an IR placement and lost out on the Eagles’ back-of-the-depth chart job to Wendell Smallwood.

The Lions have four active-roster running backs in Kerryon Johnson, Ameer Abdullah, Theo Riddick and former Eagles teammate LeGarrette Blount. However, they did cut Dwayne Washington and saw him opt to join the Saints’ practice squad. This will represent another chance for Pumphrey to prove he can develop as an NFL running back.

Pumphrey is the Division I-FBS all-time leading rusher. He amassed 2,133 ground yards in 2016 with San Diego State and rushed for 62 touchdowns during his college career.

Despite facing questions about his future all summer, Dobbs was focused and showed tangible improvement this preseason. His performance in the fourth preseason game in particular was very strong, and it was enough to convince the Steelers to cut Jones instead.

While Dobbs will enter the season as Ben Roethlisberger‘s backup, the Steelers apparently did have opportunities to trade him, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN (Twitter link). Fowler reports that both the Texans and Raiders were interested in Dobbs, but that the Steelers ultimately decided to keep the second-year signal caller from Tennessee.

Here’s more from the league’s northern divisions:

• The Lions had a group of running backs in for workouts, including recently released Donnel Pumphrey, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link). Pumphrey, a 2017 fourth round pick of the Eagles, received a lot of hype his rookie year, but injuries derailed his stay in Philadelphia.
• The Browns got defensive lineman Carl Davis and LB Tanner Vallejo on waivers, but only because they picked first. Four teams in total submitted claims on Davis, and three on Vallejo, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link), showing that the Browns had plenty of competition for their services.
• Linebacker Nigel Harris, cut by the Buccaneers on Saturday, will work out for the Browns on Tuesday, according to Greg Auman of The Athletic (Twitter link). Harris has spent time with the Chargers, Giants, and Bucs since entering the league as an UDFA in 2017. He started a game for the Chargers in 2017, but was waived just a few weeks into the season.

So was potential secondary cog De’Vante Bausby and rookie UDFA running back Josh Adams, given one of this year’s largest guarantees among the undrafted contingent. Philadelphia also placed safety Chris Maragos on its Reserve/PUP list, shelving him for at least six weeks.

Here are the players the Eagles will not be including on their initial 2018 53-man roster:

Released:

• WR Kamar Aiken
• DE Steven Means
• WR Markus Wheaton

Waived:

• RB Josh Adams
• CB De’Vante Bausby
• LB Asantay Brown
• TE Billy Brown
• QB Joe Callahan
• DT Winston Craig
• WR Rashard Davis
• TE Anthony Denham
• G Aaron Evans
• DE Danny Ezechukwu
• S Ironhead Gallon
• G Darrell Greene
• QB Christian Hackenberg
• T Taylor Hart
• RB Matt Jones
• DE Joe Ostman
• WR Darius Prince
• RB Donnel Pumphrey
• DT Elijah Qualls
• S Jeremy Reaves
• DT Aziz Shittu
• CB Chandon Sullivan
• C Jon Toth
• WR Bryce Treggs
• WR Greg Ward
• LB Jaboree Williams
• LB Kyle Wilson
• WR Tim Wilson

Waived with an injury designation:

• CB D.J. Killings
• TE Gannon Sinclair
• T Toby Weathersby

Placed on Reserve/NFI list:

• DT Timmy Jernigan

Placed on Reserve/PUP list

• S Chris Maragos

“We have guys here that can play,” Gruden said Saturday. “We drafted Derrius because he was the best player, we thought, at the time of the draft … not because we weren’t satisfied with the backs we have.”

The primary Redskins starters the past two years, Rob Kelley and Samaje Perine, remain on the team and are now set to be the team’s early-down backs. Passing-down specialist Chris Thompson, though he’s not yet fully recovered from the broken leg he suffered midway through last season, will reprise his role in 2018. Neither Kelley nor Perine surpassed 3.5 yards per carry last season, but Washington’s offensive line became significantly limited by injuries as the season progressed. Kelley fared much better in 2016.

Here’s the latest from the rest of the NFC East:

• A day after Guice’s injury severity became known, the Redskins are concerned about 2017 sixth-round pick Robert Davis. The team fears its second-year wide receiver suffered a torn ACL, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Davis will head in for an MRI later today, per Garafolo. The Georgia State alum was expected to play a bigger role in Year 2 after playing in just one game as a rookie.
• The Giants‘ reasoning behind sitting Odell Beckham Jr. in the preseason opener stemmed from his injury recovery, not his contract situation, per Pat Shurmur. “I want to be smart with his recovery coming back [from ankle surgery],” Shurmur said, via Tom Rock of Newsday. “I never intended to play him in this game. I didn’t reveal that to [the public], but I never intended to.” Beckham has not experienced a known setback in his recovery from last season’s ankle injury. He encountered ankle trouble during the preseason against the Browns last year, spraining his left ankle barely a month prior to fracturing it.
• The subject of Rasul Douglas moving to safety surfaced at Eagles practice, but the coaching staff shot that down, Sheil Kapadia of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Philly lost Patrick Robinson and has Ronald Darby going into a contract year, so it would make sense Douglas stays at corner. Philadelphia’s staff still believes Douglas can have a quality career as a corner, although Kapadia adds he has not progressed like the team was hoping going into his second season.
• Donnel Pumphrey may be in his final days as an Eagle, with Kapadia pointing out the “lower body” injury he suffered in the defending Super Bowl champions’ preseason opener may put him too far behind the other combatants in a hotly contested race to make the 53-man roster as the No. 4 running back. Wendell Smallwood, Matt Jones and rookie UDFA Josh Adams comprise the rest of that race, and Kapadia adds that Jones may be behind the other two after the Eagles’ first preseason game. The Eagles gave Adams a sizable guarantee to sign after the draft.

A fourth-round selection in 2017, Pumphrey was expected to serve a large role in the team’s offense as Darren Sproles-like pass catcher out of the backfield. That didn’t happen, however, with the San Diego State star tearing his hamstring in the preseason and sitting out the rest of the season on IR.

Pumphrey has been working out for some time now and has upped his weight from 177 out of college to around 185 or 190 pounds now. With the added bulk, the record-breaking college back might be able to withstand a full season in the pros. He will have some work to do to make the roster with those proved backs ahead of him on the depth chart.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

• Sticking with the Eagles, NJ.com’s Eliot Shorr-Parks ranked the Eagles top offseason needs for the Super Bowl champions. He listed linebackers as the No. 1 overall need, citing injury concerns (Jordan Hicks) and free agency (Nigel Bradham).
• The Jets are expected to release Muhammad Wilkerson before March 16 when his $16.75 MM salary would be guaranteed for 2018, ESPN’s Rich Cimini writes.
• The Bears are likely to release TE Dion Sims, the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs writes. He notes: “It’s important to note that $4 million of that $10 million guarantee does not kick in until March 16, the third day of the league year. Sims has a base salary of $6 million for 2018 and two-thirds of that becomes fully guaranteed then. So a decision on Sims needs to be made in the next five weeks or so and it’s possible, I don’t know how likely, he winds up walking away with only $6 million from the 2017 season.”

• Rob Gronkowski left the Patriots‘ win with a groin injury on Sunday, but the superstar tight end says the issue is “nothing serious,” according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. “Super relieved,” Gronkowski said. “I knew there was nothing really wrong from the beginning, so I’m good.” Despite not playing the fourth quarter, Gronk managed six receptions for 116 yards and one touchdown against the Saints. If Gronkowski does miss time, New England would turn to Dwayne Allen and Jacob Hollister at tight end.
• Third-year pro Bryce Petty will be the Jets‘ No. 2 quarterback for the “foreseeable future,” head coach Todd Bowles told reporters, including Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). Petty, who drew trade interest over the summer, was inactive in Week 1 as he recovered from a MCL sprain, but he’s now healthy and set as Josh McCown‘s backup. New York has given no indication that it’s comfortable putting 2016 second-round pick Christian Hackenbergh on the field.
• The Eagles won’t see rookie running back Donnel Pumphrey again this season, as head coach Doug Pederson said Pumphrey’s hamstring tear is a season-ending injury, reports Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Pumphrey was originally thought to be dealing with a four-to-six week issue, meaning he could have been a candidate to return from injured reserve after an eight-week absence. Instead, Philadelphia will go forward with Darren Sproles, LeGarrette Blount, Wendell Smallwood, and Corey Clement in the backfield.

Pumphrey, a San Diego State product, was selected in the fourth-round of this year’s draft. The 5’9″ athlete was remarkably efficient in his four years on campus, averaging 6.0 yards per carry and scoring an eye-popping 67 touchdowns.

Although he is behind LeGarrette Blount, Darren Sproles, Wendell Smallwood, and UDFA Corey Clement on the depth chart, the Eagles were hoping to see what Pumphrey could do this season. They’ll have to wait until at least October now and there’s a chance we won’t see him again this year if two players of greater import wind up as IR-DTR candidates.

• 2-43: Sidney Jones, CB (Washington)
• 3-99: Rasul Douglas, CB (West Virginia)
• 4-118: Mack Hollins, WR (North Carolina)
• 4-132: Donnel Pumphrey, RB (San Diego State)
• 5-166: Shelton Gibson, WR (West Virginia)
• 5-184: Nathan Gerry, S (Nebraska)
• 6-214: Elijah Qualls, DT (Washington)

The biggest name included in that group belongs to Jones, who underwent surgery on a torn Achilles in March and won’t return to the field until the fall, at the earliest. Jones’ injury, which occurred on the final rep of his pro day, caused his draft stock to slip after it appeared he’d be a first-rounder. The 6-foot, 181-pounder was a 30-game starter at Washington, where he tallied eight interceptions.

The Eagles ultimately used the pick on running back Donnel Pumphrey. The San Diego State product had four productive collegiate seasons, rushing for over 1,000 yards on three different occasions. 2016 was arguably his most productive season, as Pumphrey ran for 2,133 yards and 17 touchdowns on 349 carries. He also hauled in 27 catches for 231 yards.