When the Eagles waived linebacker Christian Ellis on Wednesday, they hoped he would clear waivers so he could return to the practice squad.
Oops.
Instead, they lost him. The Patriots placed Ellis on waivers. Six teams (Patriots, Cardinals, Titans, Falcons, Broncos and Dolphins) have filed for the 24-year-old linebacker. ESPN’s Field Yates report.
“We knew he had great special teams tape, and I thought he had a good game the other day as well. ),” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said. “But, you know, Christian is happy to be back on his feet. But obviously we wanted him back. He’s in a good place. And we wish him the best.” .”
All in all, this appears to be a miscalculation on the part of the Eagles’ front office. The team waited until Wednesday to release Ellis, perhaps hoping to slip him through.
The Eagles had other options to make a roster spot for incoming linebacker Shaq Leonard. First, they could have added Leonard to the practice squad and made him the starter. But they also could have cut Albert Okwuegbunam, who is currently back at fourth tight end.
Instead, they released a 24-year-old linebacker who has been a mainstay on special teams despite a lackluster defense in recent games. That’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. The Eagles are 10-2, and losing their special teams linebacker won’t put a damper on their season. But it was an interesting decision.
The Eagles have four off-ball linebackers on the 53-man roster: Zach Cunningham, Nicholas Morrow, Leonard and Ben VanSmeren. Sirianni said Friday he feels “good” about the Eagles’ situation at the position.
But where the Eagles might really miss Ellis is on special teams.
If the Eagles had added Ellis to the practice squad, he would have been eligible for three promotions on game day. That’s probably why the Eagles put him on waivers instead of Van Smelen, who had already been promoted up to three times this season.
In 2023, Ellis played more special teams snaps than any other player on the roster. Ellis leads the Eagles with 238 special teams snaps, ahead of Kelly Ringo (225), Josh Jobe (212), Patrick Johnson (189) and Nolan Smith (166). .
Who will fill the void on Michael Clay’s impressive special teams unit?
“Obviously, it’s not just one guy supporting another guy,” Sirianni said. “But there’s going to be some other guys, a lot of different players that will earn spots on all of his different teams. I’m really excited about Ben and what he’s been able to contribute on special teams. But… I’m going to miss Christian’s contributions and he’s been really good on special teams this year.”
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