Eagles make cuts; Kafka goes, Edwards stays

The Eagles have started the process of getting down to the 9 PM deadline of 53 men by releasing the following players:

S O.J. Atogwe
TE Brett Brackett
LB Keenan Clayton
DT Landon Cohen
TE Chase Ford
WR Mardy Gilyard
WR Chad Hall
CB Joselio Hanson
FB Emil Igwenagu
T D.J. Jones
WR Marvin McNutt
LB Adrian Moten
DT Ollie Ogbu
LB Ryan Rau
DE Monte Taylor
S Phillip Thomas
DT Frank Trotter
G/C Steve Vallos
G Brandon Washington

One notable name on the chopping block was quarterback Mike Kafka, the club's 2010 fourth-round pick out of Northwestern. He was jettisoned in favor of Trent Edwards.

“There was great competition at the quarterback position,” said Eagles head coach Andy Reid. “That’s what football and training camp is all about. In the end, we had to make the difficult decision to let Mike Kafka go. Mike is a class act, a student of the game and a great person and I think he’ll have no problem finding a job in the National Football League very soon.

“On the other hand, I’m proud of the way Trent Edwards conducted himself since the early days of the offseason workouts. He had to fight for everything he earned this summer. He improved each and every day and made the most of every opportunity.”

Edwards acquitted himself well in Thursday's exhibition finale, a 28-10 victory over the Jets. The Stanford product and free-agent signing finished 22-of-32 for 197 yards and a pair of touchdown passes.

Brackett, Ford, Hall, Igwenagu, Jones, McNutt, Ogbu, Rau, Taylor, Thomas, Trotter and Washington all have practice squad eligibility.

The Eagles roster currently stands at 55 players.

In addition, the Eagles and G Mike Gibson reached an injury settlement and he has been released from their Injured Reserve list.