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The Eagles released punter Arryn Siposs Monday and filled his practice squad spot with Braden Mann, who had gross and net averages of 45.4 and 39.3 yards in three seasons with the New York Jets.
Siposs averaged 44.6 gross yards and 38.7 net yards in two seasons and two games with the Eagles, who cut him at the end of training camp, signed him to the practice squad and activated him for the first two weeks.
“First of all, we thought Arryn did a great job in training camp and was growing so we felt like we were ready to go into the season with Arryn in there,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “After two weeks, we decided we wanted to make a change. Arryn’s been a great teammate. He’s been spot-on as a holder. Right now we just thought what was in the best interest of the team was to move on with Braden.’
Siposs has been on borrowed time since Kadarius Toney returned his low line drive punt a Super Bowl record 65 yards to kickstart the Kansas City Chiefs’ triumphant rally. There were also concerns about his slow get-off time.
The Eagles are allowing a punt return average of 8.0-yards, 19th in the league despite injuries that have decimated special teams. Mann gets a chance to make a difference next Monday when the Eagles oppose the surprisingly unbeaten Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.
Mann (5-11, 198) won the Ray Guy Award in 2018 and was the top-rated punter coming out of Texas A&M.
Ourlads’ Scouting Services describes him as a “compact strong-legged right footed punter who has all the pop needed to play on Sundays. A two-stepper who gets the ball off quickly.”
Eagles kicker Jake Elliott had a comfort level with Siposs, having made six of seven field goals in two games, including a 61-yarder. Three field goals are of 50 or more yards.
“Obviously, Braden has tape out there that we paid a lot of attention to, which got him to where we brought him in to punt,” Sirianni said. “We liked his punts when he was here and his holds and everything, so we were confident in the decision for that to happen now. We have a little bit of a longer week to make sure the operation is clean, and so that’s why it is the way it is right now.”
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Sirianni confirmed the ESPN report last Friday that nickel cornerback Avonte Maddox could be sidelined the rest of the season after sustaining what the network called a torn pectoral muscle.
The Eagles previously lost nickel/special teams standout Zech McPhearson to a torn Achilles’ tendon in the preseason.
That leaves Mario Goodrich, Eli Ricks and possibly veteran James Bradberry, who trained at the nickel during camp. Bradberry is in concussion protocol. Rookie Sydney Brown might be able to help as well.
“We feel like we have good options in-house to be able to move forward,” Sirianni said. “That’s why we cross-train people, whether that’s a corner, a safety, or whether that’s the guys that play nickel. Listen, are we going to miss Avonte? Of course we are. He’s a great football player who has made a lot of plays here. I thought he was playing really good football, really being aggressive. He caused that fumble and then made some really good plays on the perimeter. So, we’ll miss his contributions as a teammate and on the field, but we like some of our options.”
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Elsewhere on the Eagles’ injury front, Sirianni said Bradberry, running back Kenneth Gainwell (ribs) and safety Reed Blankenship (ribs) all had a shot at playing Monday.
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Buccaneers backup running back Chase Edmonds (knee) exited in the second half of Sunday’s 27-17 win over the Chicago Bears.
The Bucs (2-0) are tied for the NFC South lead with the Atlanta Falcons thanks largely to a solid defense and the efficiency of quarterback Baker Mayfield, who is fourth in the league with a 104.4 passer rating. Mayfield has three TD passes and no interceptions.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (two TDs, one pick) has a 93.1 rating, 14th in the league.
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