We continue our series looking at one veteran player from each team who could be on their team’s roster bubble this summer.
New York Giants: Paul Perkins
Writer: Andersen Pickard
Every spot on the 53-man roster is valuable, and right now, Paul Perkins currently occupies a spot that could be much better used on someone else. The running back will be entering his fourth year with the Giants, but is a top candidate to be released at the conclusion of training camp.
Perkins had a promising rookie year in 2016, appearing in 14 games but starting just one. He picked up 456 yards on 112 carries while tallying 162 yards on 15 catches out of the backfield. After a decent 2016, all signs pointed to Perkins being the starting running back in 2017. However, he appeared in 11 games and started just four, picking up a measly 90 yards on 41 carries while hauling in eight passes for 46 yards.
Perkins missed the entire 2018 season due to an injury. That hurt his stock, but so too did the emergence of Saquon Barkley in his rookie season last year, when he won several awards and broke several records for being one of the best rookie running backs in league history. With Barkley as the starter and Wayne Gallman as the backup, Perkins’ role in New York is in jeopardy.
Dallas Cowboys: Tavon Austin
Writer: Andersen Pickard
Tavon Austin is one of the top candidates to be cut by the Cowboys. Austin was acquired by Dallas last offseason, but once he took the field, he made just eight catches for 140 yards in seven total games. This comes after five years with the Rams during which he stared two-thirds (50 of 75) of the games he appeared in.
Despite losing Cole Beasley, the Cowboys’ wide receiver depth has suddenly become very busy following the signing of Randall Cobb. In addition to Cobb, locks to make the 2019 squad include Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and Allen Hurns. That leaves Austin fighting for the fifth and last roster spot, and he faces competition in second-year wideout Lance Lenoir, Jr. and third-year receiver Noah Brown.
Philadelphia Eagles: Andrew Sendejo
Writer: Michael McCafferty
One of the Eagles’ offseason free agent signings, Andrew Sendejo, will find himself in a position battle and battle for a spot on the team’s final 53-man roster. The Eagles will enter training camp with six safeties on the roster. The Eagles have two safeties already locked in to make the final roster: Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod.
The battle for the third safety spot will be between Blake Countess, Trae Elston, Deiondre’ Hall, Tre Sullivan, and Sendejo. Besides these six players, the Eagles also have a few cornerbacks that can play safety as well. As you can see, Sendejo has a lot of competition against him for the third safety spot on the team.
The Eagles signed Sendejo on March 18 to a one-year contract. He played for the Minnesota Vikings from 2011 to 2018 and was an excellent player for them. His last year with the Vikings didn’t go quite as well, as he only played in five games and missed the rest of the season due to an injury. Another thing to note is that Sendejo hasn’t played a full season since 2014, so there is a slight injury concern there, and the team needs their secondary to be as healthy as possible all season long. On his career, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Sendejo has appeared in 95 games with 58 starts, totaling 356 tackles, six interceptions and 17 passes defended. With that said, Andrew Sendejo is on the Eagles’ roster bubble and has strong chances of not making the team at all.
Washington Redskins: Ereck Flowers
Writer: Andersen Pickard
Ereck Flowers is the clear and obvious choice here. While some people think Colt McCoy could be cut, it’s worth noting that while Haskins and Keenum are essentially locks for the No. 1 and 2 spots on the depth chart, neither of them appeared to do well enough in OTAs and minicamp to prove they don’t need a third-string QB; this, of course, is where McCoy comes in. So back to Flowers…
Perhaps NBC Sports’ JP Finlay puts it best; he writes, “Flowers was terrible on the field during OTAs and minicamp. He cannot play tackle for this team, and that means he has to prove he can play guard between now and Week 1 to make the Redskins roster. The guess is he won’t do that, as he’s making a major positional shift four years into his NFL career.”
Many other reporters and writers have echoed similar thoughts as Finlay, so it seems like Flowers’ time in Washington (and maybe even in the NFL) has come to an end. It’s basically a given that he won’t start, but now it’s up in the air whether or not he’ll even have a job come August and September.
