Kenyon Green saw the Texans give up on him, via his inclusion in the March C.J. Gardner-Johnson trade, and is now set to see his first-round rookie contract hit waivers. The Eagles are set to cut the former first-round pick, CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz reports.
Competing for a guard spot on an Eagles team that lost 2024 RG starter Mekhi Becton in free agency, Green saw a potential opening emerge after Landon Dickerson‘s meniscus surgery. Matt Pryor is back with the team, while Brett Toth emerged as a more likely fill-in. The Athletic’s Zach Berman and Brooks Kubena note Green did not show enough in camp to make the 53-man roster.
Considering Green’s lack of production and the contract associated with his draft slot (No. 15), a last-ditch trade would seem unlikely in this case. The Eagles will take on $1.38MM in dead money if no one claims Green’s contract. Green will join the hundreds of non-vested veterans on waivers this week. No one in that contingent can be claimed until 11am CT Wednesday.
The Texans traded down three spots to land Green in 2022 but did not see much return on investment. The Texas A&M product struggled mightily as a rookie before missing all of the 2023 season due to a shoulder surgery (which came after two knee operations). Green won Houston’s left guard job to open last season but did not impress much in game action.
Pro Football Focus ranked Green as the worst guard regular in 2022 and second-worst in ’24. Another five-game absence ensued due to an in-season IR stay last season, and after nine starts to open the year, Green did not reacquire his Texans starting gig upon return.
Green could be a candidate to stick around on a practice squad deal, 94WIP.com’s Eliot Shorr-Parks notes. While this would be a significant step down, Green is not losing money because of today’s cut. He is tied to a fully guaranteed rookie deal. A P-squad spot would allow the Eagles to continue developing the young blocker. If Green is unclaimed and also is not retained on a P-squad deal, it would represent a major step backward for a player who entered a draft as one of the top O-line prospects available.
Philly shuffled its backup O-line corps Sunday by trading Darian Kinnard to the Packers and reacquiring swing tackle Fred Johnson. Even with the Kinnard exit, Green did not factor into the Eagles’ roster plans. Tyler Steen is set to be the Eagles’ RG starter post-Becton.