The Eagles have the San Francisco 49ers right where they want them.
Last year, the Birds played their best football of the season at the end, winning four consecutive games to win the NFC East title, when it was just quarterback Carson Wentz and bunch of backups and practice squad players catching his passes.
The Eagles will have Miles Sanders running the ball and have Cory Clement and Boston Scott backing him up, but wide receivers and three offensive line spots will consist of guys still somewhat new to NovaCare.
Wentz was asked earlier this week if playing with all backup receivers last year can be used as an asset for him this year.
“Without a doubt, it can be a resource,” said Wentz, who enters the 49ers game with the worst statistics of his career. “I think it's something to look back on and see how did I get on the same page with some of these guys even though it was a short week and a short amount of time building that chemistry quickly. And so that's really the story of this season. Because of no OTAs and all that but now even more so, we’re going into week four and there are some things that I learned…how to play fast and not try and do too much and just let the playmakers do their job. I think it's been a good week for that and for the guys, we'll be ready to go.”
Here are the roster moves announced shortly after DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery, JJ Arcega-Whiteside, John Hightower, Quez Watkins, Jalen Reagor, tight end Dallas Goedert plus left tackle Jason Peters were announced as out for the 49ers game for various injuries.
Offensive linemen Isaac Seumalo and Andre Dillard had already been lost for the season, also for injury reasons.
The Eagles called up two practice squad players to the active roster for Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers – defensive back Grayland Arnold and wide receiver Deontay Burnett.
Additional roster moves: Eagles signed WR Travis Fulgham, C Luke Juriga, and RB Adrian Killins to the active roster after placing Peters and CB Trevor Williams on IR.
This is the second week in a row that both Arnold and Burnett were called up from the practice squad.
Arnold played 12 snaps, all on special teams, against the Bengals. The 5-10, 187-pound rookie free agent out of Baylor earned second-team All-American and second-team All-Big 12 honors as a redshirt junior in 2019 when he led the team with six interceptions.
Arnold worked primarily in the slot. He also averaged 12.4 yards on punt returns with one touchdown last season.
Arnold's promotion is not a surprise considering the fact that the Eagles will be without starting cornerback Avonte Maddox (ankle) and backup Trevor Williams (rib) was placed on Injured Reserve.
The 6-0, 186-pound Burnett had three catches for 19 yards in 39 snaps against the Bengals last week.
Burnett originally joined the Eagles' practice squad last season and was promoted to the active roster for the regular-season finale.
A 2018 rookie free agent signing of the Titans, Burnett turned heads in the 2017 Rose Bowl, where he had 13 catches for 164 yards and three touchdowns.
Teams now have the option to have as many as 55 players on the active roster, as they can elevate two players from the practice squad. They have to do so on the day before the game (or day of the game for Thursday Night Football and Monday Night Football) and no later than 4 PM.
The players are automatically sent back to the practice squad without having to be placed on waivers first. However, a team can only do that with a player twice. After two times, something to note with both of these players, a player must sign an active roster contract and be counted against the 53. *
Note: Some information from philadelphiaeagles.com
Follow Al Thompson on Twitter @thompsoniii