3 Eagles who played themselves off the roster in Preseason Week 2
![Aug 15, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett (7) throws the ball against the New England Patriots during the first half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports Aug 15, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett (7) throws the ball against the New England Patriots during the first half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_6053,h_3404,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/229/01j5cptdzbqark8b2s91.jpg)
The NFL preseason is a zero-sum game. With players fighting for roster spots, every good performance and every bad outing matters.
It's fun when a well-liked player has the opportunity to ball out. On Thursday night the Philadelphia Eagles got that from wide receiver Joseph Ngata.
Ngata led all Eagles receivers with five catches for 88 yards. Andrew DiCecco of Inside The Birds explained why teammates were especially happy for his big night.
You can see how fired up the #Eagles WRs are for Joseph Ngata, who is consistently the first player out and on the JUGS machine every morning and heralded for his work ethic.
— Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) August 16, 2024
Unfortunately, not everyone came away from the game against the Patriots with such positive vibes. Several players may have put their hopes of making the roster in jeopardy with less-than-stellar showings.
These three players still have a chance to turn things around, but they're in a worse position now than they were before kickoff.
Kenny Pickett
Kenny Pickett went 11-of-13 in his second stint in an Eagles uniform. On the surface that's great. The problem is he managed just 67 yards with those 11 completions. And he took four sacks.
The Eagles gave up draft picks to acquire Pickett, so realistically they won't want to dump him. However, Tanner McKee's performance should put real pressure on Pickett.
McKee put up 140 yards on 15-of-19 passing. That 7.4 yards per pass looks much better than Pickett's 5.2. McKee also managed to avoid being sacked.
Max Scharping
It's unfortunate for Max Scharping that the Eagles toss him in at tackle because he has spent his career at guard. Having said that, his audition at tackle has gone anything but smoothly.
On Thursday, it was hard to even evaluate the rest of the offense when Scharping was on the field.
Why is Scharping setting so deep at LT? pic.twitter.com/NhZZtp8IdT
— Gino Cammilleri (@GC24_Football) August 16, 2024
Maybe the Eagles intend to keep Scharping around as a guard but it's pretty clear he has zero value as a utility offensive tackle.
The problem for Scharping is that versatility could have been his ticket to a roster spot. He's outside the two-deep at guard and disqualified himself from seeing snaps at tackle.
When you give up multiple sacks in a preseason outing, your chances of surviving cuts is low.
Josh Jobe
Josh Jobe is primarily a special teams player at this point in his career, so his roster spot is going to have to be saved on that front. He sure as hell isn't earning reps at cornerback in the preseason so far.
His most visible moment of the game had Eagles fans pulling out their hair. A prime opportunity for an interception of Joe Milton fell right through his fingers. Those are the plays that can make or break a preseason.
Jobe hasn't had much of an impact for the Eagles outside of his special teams participation. He did start three games last season but those games weren't exactly proof that he could reliably fill in at cornerback. His play against the Patriots didn't accomplish that either.
That's a problem because Philadelphia selected two defensive backs with their first two picks in the draft. Jobe may have made the roster last year but the competition for places has only gotten tighter.
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