Kadarius Toney, James Bradberry, Bailey Zappe headline list of players on the roster bubble

Nick Sirianni was an assistant coach with the Chargers in 2017 when Austin Ekeler made the team following a strong performance in the final preseason game.

Ekeler now is in his eighth NFL season and first in Washington.

Sirianni, who is entering his fourth season as the Eagles head coach, used clips from Ekeler to motivate players going into Philadelphia’s preseason finale last year. He’ll try the same tactic before the Eagles face Minnesota on Saturday.

“Yeah, we’ll probably do something similar to that,” Sirianni said Wednesday. “But as far as the guys here, we had a good amount of undrafted free agents make it the last couple years.”

Sirianni cited Eagles punt returner Britain Covey, cornerback Josh Jobe and linebacker Ben VanSumeren.

The final preseason game is an opportunity for players on the bubble to impress coaches and earn a roster spot before Tuesday’s deadline for cuts. Late-round draft picks and undrafted rookies benefit most from the playing time.

Ekeler was an undrafted running back struggling to make the Chargers before he caught the coaching staff’s attention by gaining 108 yards combined rushing and receiving. He eventually worked up to a starting role and had 38 touchdowns rushing and receiving in 2021-22. The Commanders gave him a two-year, $11.4 million contract in free agency.

While young players battle for roster spots this weekend, several veteran players are on edge because they could be on the way out.

Here are five veteran players on the bubble:

Wide receiver Kadarius Toney, a 2021 first-round pick by the New York Giants, helped the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl two years ago after they acquired him in a trade during the season. In a three-minute span in the fourth quarter of Kansas City’s 38-35 win over Philadelphia in the Super Bowl, Toney made two monumental plays. First, he caught a 5-yard TD pass that gave the Chiefs a 28-27 lead. Then, he returned a punt 65 yards to the Eagles 5 to set up another TD.

But Toney couldn’t build off that success. He struggled last season and was inactive from Week 15 through the playoffs and sat out Kansas City’s Super Bowl win over San Francisco. His most memorable play of the 2023 season was an offside penalty that negated a go-ahead TD that he scored off a lateral from Travis Kelce late in the fourth quarter of a loss to Buffalo.

The Chiefs added veteran wideout Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and drafted Xavier Worthy in the first round to go with Rashee Rice. They also have Skyy Moore, Mecole Hardman and Justin Watson.

Cornerback James Bradberry was a second-team All-Pro in 2022, playing an important role in helping the Philadelphia Eagles reach the Super Bowl. He had a poor season last year and the Eagles moved him to safety after selecting cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in the first two rounds of the NFL draft.

Bradberry has earned praise from defensive coordinator Vic Fangio during camp but he’s still learning the position. The Eagles would take on about $15 million in dead cap money by releasing Bradberry but can spread that hit over two seasons with about $4.3 million counting against this season’s cap and the rest in 2025.

Quarterback Bailey Zappe has started eight games for the New England Patriots in his first two seasons, going 4-4. But Zappe’s future is likely elsewhere. Drake Maye was drafted to be the quarterback of the future and Jacoby Brissett was signed to provide veteran leadership. The Patriots also drafted Joe Milton in the sixth round to add depth.

New England has probably held onto Zappe to try to trade him, though there won’t be much of a market for him unless a team loses a backup.

Right tackle La’el Collins hasn’t played in an NFL game since 2022 because a knee injury forced him to miss last season. He finished the season on Dallas’ practice squad, returning to the Cowboys after starting 71 games for them from 2015-21 and spending 2022 with Cincinnati.

Buffalo signed Collins to be a swing backup for tackles Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown. But he has struggled in training camp and was moved to guard as a last option to earn a roster spot.

Safety Mike Edwards, who won Super Bowl rings with Tampa Bay and Kansas City, also is battling to make the Bills. He missed the spring with a shoulder injury and much of training camp with an ankle injury. Edwards was eased into practice this week and is fighting to make up for lost time. He does have $1.6 million guaranteed but the Bills would save $1.2 million on the salary cap if they cut him.

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AP Sports Writers Dave Skretta and John Wawrow contributed.

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