PHILADELPHIA (AP) -Jerome McDougle ran out of chances with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The former first-round pick was among 12 players released Saturday to put the Eagles at the NFL’s roster limit. McDougle had a solid preseason, finishing with a team-high 2 1/2 sacks. But that wasn’t enough for the Eagles to keep the defensive end around. McDougle has just three sacks in 33 career games.
“It was an extremely difficult decision for us,” general manager Tom Heckert said. “He’s a great guy and he’s worked real hard to come back from adversity. He won’t have a hard time finding a job.”
The Eagles also released: cornerback Kyle Arrington, fullbacks Jed Collins and Jason Davis, wide receivers Michael Gasperson and Shaheer McBride, defensive tackles Mike Marquardt and Montae Reagor, linebackers Justin Roland and Andy Studebaker, tight end Kris Wilson and guard Scott Young.
Rookie offensive linemen King Dunlap (ankle) and Mike Gibson (shoulder) were placed on injured reserve.
Tony Hunt, a third-round pick last year, won the starting job at fullback after switching from halfback two weeks ago. Rookie defensive end Bryan Smith, rookie linebacker Joe Mays and veteran defensive also tackle Dan Klecko survived the final cuts.
“He improved from the first week to the second week,” Heckert said of Hunt. “He’s big enough to do it. He has a chance to be a pretty good fullback.”
The Eagles traded up 15 spots to draft McDougle with the 15th overall pick in 2003. But the former Miami star never lived up to expectations. McDougle was plagued by injuries his first two seasons and missed all of 2005 after he was shot during a robbery in Miami before the start of training camp.
McDougle returned in 2006 and appeared in 14 games, recording one sack. But he sat out last season with a triceps injury.
“Every year he showed the determination to come back,” Heckert said. “We thought long and hard about this. We’re keeping so many defensive linemen that we couldn’t rationalize keeping another one.”
On Friday, the Eagles gave up on another high draft pick, cutting running back Ryan Moats. He was a third-round choice in 2005 and had a promising rookie season, averaging 5.1 yards per rush and scoring three touchdowns. But Moats was slowed by injuries and didn’t fit well in Philadelphia’s offense.
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