The Eagles are expected to release cornerback Joselio Hanson, who had been in a heated competition with rookie Brandon Boykin. Philadelphia could attempt to trade Hanson before Friday’s 9 p.m. ET deadline to reduce rosters to 53 players.
Hanson was released in final roster cuts before the 2011 season, signed a two-year deal four days later.
Boykin, who is 5-foot-8 but described by coach Andy Reid as physical and tough, is also an explosive return specialist. He can do a 360 slam dunk in basketball and his vertical leap is 43 inches. He was the 123rd pick in the 2012 draft and a standout at Georgia.
Hanson, 31, said at the start of training camp that he welcomed the competition. Reid first let on after the second preseason game that the battle for the third cornerback spot was too close to call. He said Aug. 23 that he’d simply take the best player into the season as his nickel cornerback.
“So you make it as simple as you possibly can in your evaluation of that and say whoever’s playing the best will play in that position and that’s a close competition there,” Reid said. “Those guys are going after it and I thought both of them actually did some good things in the game. So, we’ll just leave that as an open competition.”