A month ago, Mac McWilliams looked like one of the easier roster projections on the Philadelphia Eagles' defense. The second-year cornerback wasn't generating the same headlines as Ty Robinson or Darius Cooper, but he was quietly doing what young players need to do to survive training camp and win a job.
He was stacking practices, earning opportunities, and giving coaches reasons to believe he could help down the road if called upon. Lately, however, the conversation has shifted, not because McWilliams has played poorly enough to eliminate himself from consideration. Rather, the circumstances around him have become increasingly complicated.
Availability is becoming part of the Mac McWilliams evaluation
An old NFL saying. Availability is a skill, and being unavailable can be dangerous at this time of year.
Just ask Johnny Wilson. After being waived with an injury designationand clearing waivers,he reverts to Philadelphia's injured reserve.
McWilliams can ball, but his most obvious concern right now is his health. He missed practice time recently with a groin injury before returning for Saturday night's preseason matchup against the New England Patriots. He then exited during the second quarter after appearing to sustain another injury and did not return.
For established veterans, a missed practice or preseason game isn't particularly meaningful. For guys on the back half of the depth chart who are fighting for roster spots, the story changes. Every missed rep carries weight. The Eagles are trying to make decisions with limited information. The fewer opportunities a player has to put positive tape on film, the harder it becomes to separate himself from the competition.
The numbers aren't helping Mac McWilliams' case.
The larger issue may be simple roster math. Philadelphia's cornerback room is somewhat crowded. Jonathan Jones was added this offseason, but then again, he is also injured.
Riq Woolen isn't going anywhere. Kelee Ringo remains firmly in the mix. Jones is expected back from that shoulder injury at some point. The Eagles also continue evaluating young defensive backs while searching for answers at multiple spots in the secondary.
Meanwhile, players such as Shaun Wade continue creating splash plays. Wade has forced fumbles in consecutive preseason games,s making the coaching staff's decision-making more difficult.
Every strong performance elsewhere in the secondary creates another hurdle for McWilliams to clear. The preseason finale suddenly matters. This isn't a declaration that McWilliams won't make the roster, far from it. The Eagles invested a draft pick in him because they believe he possesses traits worth developing.
Those evaluations don't disappear after a couple of preseason games. Still, the margin for error feels smaller than it did a few weeks ago. The story of McWilliams' summer isn't that he has been overtaken by someone else. It's that injuries have interrupted his momentum at the exact moment other young defensive backs are gaining theirs.
That's what makes the preseason finale so important. Players like Ty Robinson and Darius Cooper have spent this entire camp forcing their way into roster conversations. McWilliams enters the final week needing an opportunity to remind everyone why he was already part of that discussion.
And if that opportunity doesn't come, the roster path that once appeared relatively straightforward could become much harder to navigate. If we were to wager, we'd bet on him making the team, but in professional football, one can never tell.
This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Mac McWilliams faces pivotal Eagles preseason finale
