PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman met with reporters Monday afternoon after the franchise cut its roster to 53 players.The Athletic’s Zach Berman and Brooks Kubena provide their takeaways from the long-time executive’s assessment of the team’s decisions.Why did the Eagles keep four QBs?Roseman said the Eagles kept all four quarterbacks — Jalen Hurts, Tanner McKee, Andy Dalton and fifth-round rookie Cole Payton — because it is the “most important position in sports.”“I feel like all those guys have value for our team,” Roseman said. “Some of them obviously, some is short-term value, some is long-term value — when you think about Cole. So, just as we went through the process here, just thought it was the right thing to do for our football team.”The Roseman-era Eagles have valued quarterback depth, but that has generally meant securing three. This is the first time they have kept four on their initial roster since at least 2010. One likely reason, although Roseman did not confirm it, is that neither McKee nor Dalton “won” the backup battle. Asked who the QB2 is, Roseman said he’d keep the decision “close to the vest.”Two other factors: The Eagles wanted to keep Payton for his development or future trade value, a lesson reinforced when the Green Bay Packers flipped former Eagles practice-squad quarterback Kyle McCord for a 2028 sixth-round pick. And Dalton, a vested veteran, could have pursued a roster spot elsewhere rather than sign with Philadelphia’s practice squad.3 women of interest in our 'NFL 50 under 40' listJourdan RodrigueDalton did not commit Friday when asked if he’d stay on the practice squad. The Eagles also kept wide receiver Elijah Moore, another vested veteran, while building out a practice squad with youth.“It’s easy to say, ‘Hey, put this guy on the practice squad, and you’ll get him back, and he’s a vested vet,'” Roseman said. “But understanding that those guys have other options to go other places. And when you say that to a veteran and they say, ‘Hey, I’m going to explore my options,’ and you’ve got 31 other teams, and they say, ‘We’ll give you a 53-man spot,’ now you lose that guy.”Dalton, a 16-year veteran, offers experience and familiarity with the system. McKee, a 2023 sixth-round pick entering the final year of his contract, struggled in the preseason and likely lost trade value. Payton, who debuted on the punt coverage team in the preseason finale, can develop in the background with the full four years of his rookie contract ahead of him.“These guys are valuable,” Roseman said. “They take time to develop. At the same time, that position is so valuable to this organization over a long period of time. So, want to be strong there. I think both those guys behind Jalen have value and have shown that over the course of their careers. And we kind of take all the information at our disposal to make all these decisions.” — KubenaConfidence in Greenard’s return from injuryRoseman pointed out that edge rusher Jonathan Greenard’s inclusion on the 53-man roster, and not the PUP list, “shows that we anticipate him playing sooner rather than later.” Roseman did not disclose a recovery timetable, opting to keep that, too, “close to the vest.” Had the Eagles placed Greenard on the PUP list, he would have had to miss at least four games.Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said Greenard will have to learn new things in this defense’s system, namely coverage responsibilities Greenard has yet to experience across six seasons with the Houston Texans and Minnesota Vikings. Roseman acknowledged there will be a learning curve for Greenard, but voiced his confidence in Greenard’s ability to contribute quickly.“Guy’s a tremendous football player,” Roseman said. “He’s got a tremendous ability to affect the quarterback. He’s gonna come back in tremendous shape. I think that you saw, the D-line’s obviously a position of emphasis for us — always. The guy fits what we do. Yeah, there’ll be some things that will be a little bit different. And we’ll get him up to speed, but we expect him to have a high impact on this team this season. And for all accounts of what he’s done and how he works and how he leads, he’s as advertised.” — KubenaWhy six WRs — plus thoughts on Lemon’s post-injury progressThe Eagles are keeping six wide receivers on their roster for the first time since they hired coach Nick Sirianni in 2021. They enjoyed having both DeVonta Smith and former wide receiver A.J. Brown under contract for four seasons. Roseman had described the overhauled room within an overhauled system as a “basketball squad” of versatility. They traded up to pick Makai Lemon at No. 20, and added veterans Hollywood Brown, Dontayvion Wicks and Moore.Lemon had a rough debut in the preseason finale after returning from a second hamstring injury that sidelined him for most of training camp. Second-round pick Eli Stowers also missed time in training camp with a hamstring injury. Roseman voiced “tremendous confidence” in both rookies.“Obviously, they had some setbacks here physically,” Roseman said. “And we looked at that as a staff and a group. Maybe we can figure out some changes here to get those guys going a little bit sooner as from a skill-position perspective. But don’t have any doubt about what they’re going to be in the NFL over time. Still believe that they’re going to contribute to our 2026.”Moore’s inclusion on the 53-man roster should supplement Lemon’s learning curve. Moore, a sixth-year veteran, offers inside-outside versatility and has been involved in the same sort of motions Lemon took on upon his return. Given Moore’s one-year, $1.3 million contract, which included no guaranteed money, it was perceived that the Eagles could try to move him to their practice squad.Roseman said Moore’s strong training camp reinforced the impression the Eagles formed during the 2021 pre-draft process. After a disappointing previous season in Buffalo and Denver, Moore consistently created separation and made plays — including two long touchdowns in practice — convincing the Eagles he was too dependable to risk losing. — KubenaWhy the Eagles waived the international playersThe Eagles did not keep Uar Bernard and Joshua Weru from the International Player Pathway program on the 53-man roster, but they were able to sign both to the practice squad Monday. Roseman explained there’s never comfort in exposing players to waivers. The front office tries to take a snapshot of what other teams see when deciding who to keep. He recognized that Bernard and Weru have development ahead of them. Vic Fangio previously said they’re “light years away.”“From our perspective, development is real,” Roseman said. “These guys have tremendous ability to be developed. They want to be developed. They have tools in their body, they’ve got great character, but it’s new to them.”The point was made that the Eagles kept Jordan Mailata on the roster for two seasons before he played in a game. Roseman said that “nobody’s going to see a Jordan Mailata again.”“He had just a unique combination of size, strength, athleticism, and pro experience as an athlete. I think sometimes we forget Uar has never played organized sports before,” Roseman said. “It’s a different bar. I think if we’re just judging everyone through the lens of Jordan Mailata, it’s going to be hard to give these guys a fair chance. Still very excited about them, really glad that they did get through. Certainly wasn’t certain about that, but I’m glad they’re back here.” — BermanIs Zach Ertz next at tight end?There’s intrigue about whether the Eagles will bring back Zach Ertz, who is almost nine months past a torn ACL suffered last December and has expressed interest in returning to Philadelphia. Ertz spent the first eight years of his career with the Eagles and caught the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl LII. He’s 10 catches behind Harold Carmichael for the most in franchise history.“First, I’d say what an unbelievable player, what an unbelievable person,” Roseman said. “Tremendous respect for him. At the same time, love what we have going in our tight end room too. So I would say, I have talked to Zach over a period of time — obviously rehabbing his ACL and the relationship, just like a lot of our former players who’ve been here — but like anything else, we wouldn’t get into any conversations about anything other than from a big-picture perspective.”The Eagles kept four tight ends: Dallas Goedert, Johnny Mundt, Eli Stowers and E.J. Jenkins. Roseman explained that the decision to keep Jenkins came down to his improvement during his time with the Eagles — he was a member of the Super Bowl roster in 2024 and has bounced between the practice squad and the 53-man roster. A converted wide receiver listed at 6-foot-6 and 245 pounds, Jenkins is now 260 pounds and has developed into a better blocker who can also contribute on special teams, Roseman said.“You see in this league where the position is going, where it’s trending,” Roseman said. “A lot of similar offensive systems to some of the things that we’re running where these wide tight ends, they’re highly valued in free agency, they’re highly valued in the draft.” — BermanYouth vs. veterans on bottom of rosterThe Eagles had a league-high four players claimed off waivers Monday, a sign of interest in the roster’s young players. The Eagles did not want to risk the chance that some of the vested veterans would choose to sign elsewhere rather than return to the Eagles’ practice squad, which was why Roseman kept them on the roster over developmental players. (Moore, Dalton, Fred Johnson and Jonathan Jones are examples of players who might fit in this category.) Roseman said the practice squad is younger than in previous seasons.The general manager admitted, though, that the Eagles lost more players than they anticipated to waivers. He said the claim rate is usually 4 percent. In the Eagles’ case, 13.8 percent of the players who were claimed in the NFL were from their roster (tackles Cameron Williams and Myles Hinton; tight end Cameron Latu and defensive back Kapena Gushiken).“That’s the risk of doing business, and don’t feel good about that,” Roseman said. “Don’t feel good about losing those guys. We lost two draft picks. We lost a special teamer, a tight end who had 10 special teams tackles for us last year and a blocked kick. Don’t feel good about that. We lost a young defensive back that we liked. That goes along with this. You can’t sit here and feel tremendously good when you’re losing players. We’ll do our best to try to replenish that.” — Berman