Eagles Cut Roster to 75 With Patterson, Peters on N-FI Lists

The Eagles cut their roster down to 75 players today while giving up the rights to just one player.  The roster must be down to the regular season limit of 53 players by 9 p.m. on Friday.

Philadelphia had 79 players on the roster this morning, but placed defensive tackle Mike Patterson on the reserve/non-football illness list and left tackle Jason Peters on the reserve/non-football injury list.  The Eagles also placed guard Mike Gibson in the injured reserve with a hip flexor injury and waived wide receiver Jamel Hemler.

Both reserve/N-FI lists function the same as the physically unable to perform list, which means Patterson and Peters are eligible to begin practicing anytime between Week Six and Week Nine of the regular season.  They’ll then have 21 days to practice before the Eagles must either activate them or place them on the injured reserve.

Patterson is recovering from offseason brain surgery to repair the arteriovenous malformation that caused a seizure during training camp last year.  As part of the operation in January, doctors had to remove and then replace a piece of his skull, which is still healing.

Peters ruptured his Achilles tendon twice this offseason and will likely miss the entire year.  Given their unstable situation at left tackle, though, and the fact that there is no limit on the number of players that can go on the reserve/NF-I lists, the Eagles have nothing to lose by preserving the possibility of his return.

The Eagles had already trimmed their roster from 90 down to 79 by waiving cornerback Cliff Harris, wide receiver Elvis Akpla, safety Wade Bonner, defensive end Xavier Brown, wide receiver Brian Hernandez (injured), wide receiver McKay Jacobson, wide receiver Tiger Jones, guard Alfred McCullough, defensive back Tom Nelson (injured), cornerback Kevin Thomas and offensive tackle Thomas Welch.

The Eagles are in action against on Thursday against the New York Jets at 6:30 p.m at Lincoln Financial Field.  The game will be broadcast on 97.3 ESPN FM, with pre-game coverage starting at 5:30 p.m.

Ryan Messick covers the Eagles for 97.3 ESPN FM.  Follow him on Twitter.