Eagles Cut Poyer; Bring Up RB Tucker

The Eagles downgraded Chris Polk from questionable to out for Sunday’s game against the Cowboys because of a shoulder injury.

In order to have a third running back available, the team decided to bring Matthew Tucker up from the practice squad and released cornerback Jordan Poyer.

The Eagles will try and bring Poyer back into the fold following the game, perhaps by signing him to the  practice squad. But his return is not guaranteed. He has to clear waivers and is free to sign with any team after that.

The rookie out of Oregon State was called into action in the opener against Washington as a result of injury but did not fare well and has since been unable to establish a role on defense. Long term, the Eagles are interested to see if he can transition to the safety position. Again, that’s assuming they can re-sign him.

Polk’s injury occurred on special teams against the Bucs last week. The second-year back indicated it is not the same shoulder that hampered him in college. He did not practice Wednesday, was limited Thursday and was listed as a full participant Friday.

“We’re not at that stage right now,” said Chip Kelly prior to Thursday’s practice, when asked about possibly making a move if Polk wasn’t ready for Dallas. “I think we’d have to kind of be comfortable with it.  Again, we’ve got some guys that we’ve practiced that can play there if for some reason we went into the game with two.  We have contingency plans on who can be three and who can be four.”

Tucker signed with the Eagles as an undrafted rookie free agent this offseason. The 6-1, 227-pound back ran for over 2,600 yards and 33 touchdowns in four seasons at TCU. He initially failed his conditioning test at the start of training camp but passed a couple days later. He did not make the initial 53-man roster but was eventually signed to the practice squad.