Eagles Would be Taking Risk by Putting QB on Practice Squad

Putting players on the NFL practice squad always comes with some risk. That's why some teams don't put their young players there, even if they believe they'd be better suited to it. For the Philadelphia Eagles, that's unfortunately something they have to be mindful of with quarterback Colton Payton. 

The 2026 fifth-round pick isn't expected to be in a position to start games this year and would certainly benefit from getting more reps in with the practice squad, but then again, the Eagles would risk losing a player who they obviously have some level of trust in. 

There's a reason they selected him in this past year's draft: he has some tools.

Right now, it remains uncertain, but the latest words from CBS Sports raise an interesting point. The idea is that Philadelphia has four quarterbacks on its roster, but it believes moving any of the backups could be a valuable decision and could get them a decent return when they decide to do so.

“Philadelphia's plan at quarterback may be as simple as trying to slip fifth-round pick Cole Payton onto the practice squad. The team traded for veteran Andy Dalton this offseason despite having Tanner McKee to back up Jalen Hurts, then drafted Payton. The Eagles view the position as an asset where they could potentially flip a player for a larger return when the time is right.

"Cleveland has taken a similar approach in recent years and the two staffs each have a twin Berry: Andrew is the Browns' general manager and Adam is the assistant general manager to Howie Rosema,” Josh Edwards of CBS wrote.

Howie Roseman is arguably the best in the world at his job, so I don't really worry about him making the wrong decisions. At the end of the day, I trust Roseman to keep doing what he's expected to every day. 

This is a guy who has really done a nice job over the past few years, and there's no reason not to trust him at this point. Of course, with four quarterbacks on the roster, some questions need answering, but I don't think putting Payton on the practice squad would address any of them. 

If anything, moving one of the veteran backups like McKee or Dalton would be the better idea.