Ahead of their huge Week 11 showdown with the Lions, the Philadelphia Eagles performed a pair of practice squad transactions. The Eagles signed ED Titus Leo and released CB Ambry Thomas in a corresponding move.
Leo is a former sixth-round pick of the Colts in 2023 out of Wagner. He spent his rookie season on the Colts practice squad before being picked up by the Patriots in 2024. That year, he appeared in four games for New England and totaled four tackles and a pass defensed. He was subsequently waived and picked up by the Titans, who waived him back in August. This is Leo’s second stint on Philly’s practice squad this season.
Thomas is a former third-round pick by the 49ers out of Michigan back in 2021. He made an immediate impact as a rookie, appearing in 12 games with 23 tackles, an interception and five passes defensed. In 2022, he had just 13 tackles in 15 games but bounced back in his third season in 2023. That year, he had 43 tackles, an interception, seven passes defensed, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Thomas has not appeared in an NFL game since 2023.
Going into the November 4 league trade deadline, the Eagles had two primary goals: add some pass rush help and improve their cornerback depth chart. They accomplished the first by sending a third-round pick to the Dolphins for former first-round ED Jaelan Phillips. Once viewed as one of the best young pass rushers in the league, Phillips has been hampered by injury the last few seasons but is still a powerful force off the edge when healthy.
Meanwhile, at cornerback, Philadelphia made two trades. First, they sent WR John Metchie III to the Jets for CB Michael Carter II, one of the league’s premier slot corners. They also traded a 2026 sixth-round pick to the Ravens for CB Jaire Alexander and a 2027 seventh-round pick.
Alexander is a former first-round pick by the Packers who had a stretch for a few seasons when he was one of the best cornerbacks in the league. Much like with Phillips, injuries killed his career momentum, and he was looking for a fresh start in Baltimore this season.
But earlier this week, Alexander informed the Eagles that he will be stepping away from football for a time as he contemplates retirement. He was a healthy scratch in his last game for the Ravens, perhaps indicating this was a possibility before it was more widely known.
With the trade deadline having come and gone, there won’t be any significant additions to the room this year. The Eagles will have to work with what they already have in-house.
The good news is that Philadelphia has one of the league’s best young cornerback tandems in the league with Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. The bad news is that their third starting spot is still in flux. Between Carter, Adoree’ Jackson, Kelee Ringo, and Jakorian Bennett, they have some options. But it remains to be seen how effective they are.
Across the National Football League, it is not common for coaches to publicly call out specific deficiencies from a player.
Last week, Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard publicly expressed the rush defense of cornerback Terrion Arnold was not acceptable.
Others may have reacted negatively, but Detroit’s young defensive back is used to being coached tough, and actually embraces it.
The relationship between Arnold and Sheppard is quite close, allowing for the young defensive back to steadily develop more and more into a complete cornerback.
Detroit’s first-year defensive coordinator quipped prior to practice on Thursday that the former first-round pick looked a little too excited for a player that is not participating at practice.
“Oh, he’s upright. He’s there a little too upright for me, for not playing. But I said, ‘You’re not practicing. Why are you so excited today?’ That’s just him. Seriously,” said Sheppard. “Kind of a little brother or father feel, whatever you want to call it. Like, he’s giving me no choice but to take that role on.
“And man, I love him, because the thing I love most about him, seriously, is that I challenged that player and I challenged him publicly. And a lot of guys can’t take that,” Sheppard added. “And I know he’s one that I can, because of the relationship we have. He knows I’m not like being demeaning towards him. I’m being very demanding, though, because I see something in him. I see what he can be and I fully expect him to not only reach that, but to usurp it. And I think he will.”
Arnold impressed the team’s defensive leader, not for play in coverage, but for a specific play against the Commanders on a run call.
“He had a play and a tight read, probably my most proudest play. His coverage speaks for itself, but I told you the part of the game I was looking for,” Sheppard said. “And you look down in the tight red, they ran a sweep to him. He had a blocker on him, he beats the blocker and goes under to make the play. That was probably my most proud play in that game with Terrion.
“A player that’s responding in an adverse situation, coach calling me out,” Sheppard commented further. “He can take that so wrong and go down in the dumps, but he did the opposite. So, I’ll be very excited knowing when I get that player back, and it would also be good to see him finish a game here.”