Philadelphia Eagles cut Vacaville native Carson Strong from roster
(Graphic by Solano NewsNet)
Former Will C. Wood High School football player Carson Strong will no longer play professional football for the Philadelphia Eagles after the pro football team cut him from their roster on Monday.
On Monday, several sports news outlets confirmed that the Eagles had parted ways with Strong, nearly four months to the day that they signed him as an undrafted free agent.
Following his high school career in Vacaville, Strong played as a quarterback for the University of Nevada at Reno. There, he dazzled crowds with a stellar performance that made him a top pick for professional football.
But a serious knee injury that required multiple surgeries raised some doubts about any professional football career. Still, after he was passed up during the NFL draft in April, the Eagles immediately signed him as an undrafted free agent, with a contract that offered over $300,000 in guarantees, according to reports.
And then, for much of the pre-season, the Eagles did nothing with him.
Strong showed up to every practice, but he was rarely given anything more than mental exercises. Of the three pre-season games, Strong appeared in just two. He took the field in the closing moments of a game against the Cleveland Browns, throwing one pass in that game before taking two knees to run out the clock.
On Saturday, he appeared again in Miami for the Eagles' last pre-season game. There, his work helped the Eagles score their only touchdown of the night (the Eagles lost the game 10-48).
All NFL teams face a Tuesday deadline to cut down their rosters from 80 prospects to 53, which will effectively end the careers of some pre-season football players in their first year. While Strong won't be playing for the Eagles from this point forward, it is possible that other teams may pick him up to serve on their practice squad.
Some sports analysts suggested Strong was more of a business play for the Eagles, and that they never really intended to use him as a player. The theory is that his contract was intended to keep him from going to another franchise during the pre-season, yet the coaches didn't really see a spot for him on the team.
Asked Saturday evening if he regrets signing with the Eagles, Strong affirmed that the pre-season"didn't go quite as I expected," but had nothing critical to say beyond that.
"This is a great organization to be a part of, this is a great football team with great coaches and a great owner," Strong said in a post-game interview with reporters. "It’s a top-run organization from the owner to the GM to the coaches. These guys know what they’re doing. This is a great roster, and I’m very happy to have a chance to be on this team and be a part of it."