Every NFL team loses players during the waiver process. That's the unavoidable cost of trimming a 90-man training camp roster to 53 players. The Philadelphia Eagles felt that reality Monday when four players they exposed to waivers found new homes elsewhere.
Offensive tackles Myles Hinton and Cameron Williams were claimed by the Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons, respectively. Rookie defensive back Kapena Gushiken landed with the Indianapolis Colts, while tight end Cameron Latu joined the New England Patriots. The lines connecting the roster dots that represent the Eagles and Patriots continue to connect.
Those losses are never ideal, particularly for an organization that places such a strong emphasis on identifying and developing young talent.
Yet focusing solely on the players who departed risks missing the larger story.
The Eagles still accomplished much of their primary roster objective
Roster cutdown weekend is ultimately an exercise in risk management. Every front office must decide which players are worth protecting and which can be exposed to waivers with the hope they clear and return to the practice squad. The Eagles lost four familiar faces they would have preferred to keep in the building.
They also watched 20 others clear waivers, preserving opportunities to continue developing prospects at several premium positions.
Among the players who remained available were offensive linemen Jake Majors and Zeke Correll, defensive tackle Uar Bernard, edge rushers Joshua Weru and Keyshawn James-Newby, defensive backs Cole Wisniewski and Maximus Pulley, and several young skill-position players who spent the summer competing for roster spots. Those names may not generate the same attention as a waiver claim, but they represent the type of developmental depth organizations spend months trying to identify.
Howie Roseman has long operated with a willingness to make difficult roster decisions, trusting both the scouting process and the Eagles' ability to continue replenishing the pipeline. Sometimes that approach results in losing players another team values. That's part of doing business in the NFL.
The more important takeaways are that, first, Howie Roseman has earned trust, and second, Philadelphia still has access to much of the young talent it spent the summer evaluating and developing. Four players got away. Most of the developmental core didn't. History suggests that's exactly the type of long-term bet Roseman is comfortable making.
Losing Hinton, Williams, Gushiken and Latu wasn't the preferred outcome, but it was never the entire equation. Philadelphia's front office has earned a reputation for seeing the bigger picture, and after Monday's waiver results, much of the developmental foundation the Eagles hoped to preserve remains firmly in place.
This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Eagles lose four players on waivers but keep most of developmental core available
