Eagles Cut Ties With Former First Round Pick Ahead of Week 2 Battle With Chiefs
Posted September 8, 2025
The Philadelphia Eagles opened the 2025 campaign with a 24-20 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night, and while the win was a welcome sight, there are several areas the team needs to improve. That will be especially important since they will be taking on the Kansas City Chiefs in a Super Bowl LIX rematch in Week 2.
With star guard Landon Dickerson banged up already on the team’s offensive line, having depth at this spot is going to be crucial for Philadelphia. On Saturday, however, they ended up releasing a former first-round pick whom they had recently promoted to the active squad as they prepare for their big battle with the Chiefs.
Eagles Waive Offensive Lineman Kenyon Green
Even though they won the Super Bowl last year, the Eagles were among the busiest teams in the league this offseason. One move they made saw them pick up Kenyon Green from the Houston Texans. The No. 15 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Green was never able to find his footing with the Texans, which led Philly to take a flier on him.
While Green’s first-round draft billing seemingly gave him an inside track to land a backup job on the Eagles’ o-line, he struggled throughout training camp, and it became clear as time went on that he was on the roster bubble. Green ended up getting released as part of the team’s final roster cuts, but he was quickly re-signed to the practice squad.
Ahead of Philadelphia’s clash with Dallas, Green was promoted to the active squad, but he ended up being inactive for the game. While it initially seemed like he could stick around as a depth option, that ended up not being the case, as the Eagles released Green on Saturday as they turn their attention to Week 2.
“The Eagles announced on Saturday that they have waived offensive lineman Kenyon Green,” Chris McPherson wrote on the team’s official website. “The former first-round pick was inactive for Thursday night’s season-opening win over the Dallas Cowboys.”
Could Kenyon Green Return to Eagles’ Practice Squad?
Considering how he was selected with a high pick in the first round of the draft, it’s clear that Green has the potential to be a starting-caliber talent in the NFL. The Eagles have enough talent on their offensive line that they could work on developing Green behind the scenes, but to this point, he has not shown enough to warrant a consistent spot on the team’s 53-man roster.
While Green has been released, he could end up quickly returning to Philadelphia on its practice squad. Of course, if an opportunity to latch on with another team’s roster pops up, Green would likely take that, but it doesn’t seem all that likely that it will happen. It will be worth keeping tabs on Green to see if he does end up returning to the Eagles later this week, but for now, the team’s primary focus is on getting ready for the Chiefs.
Calls Mount for Browns to Cut Kicker After Loss to Bengals
The Cleveland Browns positioned themselves to win their opener against the Bengals, but rookie kicker Andre Szmyt came up short when called upon.
Szmyt missed two very important kicks against the Bengals. He pushed an extra point wide right and also missed a chip-shot 36-yard field goal with just over two minutes left. The Browns lost 17-16.
“Oh. Szmyt. Browns going to be looking for a kicker tomorrow…” one fan said.
Another added, “Hey Browns — get rid of Andre Szmyt. We aren’t doing this (expletive) again.”
“Fair to say Andre Szmyt will not be employed by the Browns tomorrow,” a fan said.
Szmyt won the kicking job in the preseason, beating out incumbent Dustin Hopkins, who had struggled with consistency.
“I think Andre (Szmyt) did a nice job since he’s been here, took advantage of every opportunity that we gave him,” Browns special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone said earlier in the week. “And just made a decision, felt like it was the right thing to do for our team.”
Sunday marked Szmyt’s NFL debut. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Chicago Bears in 2023 but didn’t make the roster. He has also spent time in the UFL, where he played for the St. Louis Battlehawks. Szmyt had a strong college career at Syracuse, winning the Lou Groza Award in 2018.
But now, the Browns are searching for answers yet again at kicker moving forward. It’s a position that’s been just about as unstable for the Browns as quarterback.
Turnovers Doom Browns Against Bengals
The Browns hung with the Bengals, stringing together long, methodical drives. But two interceptions by Joe Flacco ended up dooming Cleveland. Neither was the 40-year-old QB’s fault.
The first bounced off the hands of Jerry Jeudy and was picked off by a Bengals defender. The second — on a potential game-winning drive late — was the same, but this time with Cedric Tillman being unable to haul in the ball.
Drops haunted the Browns a year ago. Cleveland led the league in drops in 2024 and had three in the fourth quarter alone against the Bengals.
Joe Flacco Gets Heavy Workload in First Start
The Browns named Flacco as their starter at the end of training camp. Cleveland had staged a four-man quarterback battle that featured Flacco and Kenny Pickett — who was since traded to the Las Vegas Raiders — as well as rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
The Browns did not shy away from giving Flacco a heavy workload in his first start. He completed 31 of 45 passes for 290 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. While he attempted a lot of passes, very few went deep down the field.
His favorite targets were a pair of rookies in tight end Harold Fannin and running back Dylan Sampson. Fannin caught seven passes for 63 yards. Sampson snagged eight receptions for 64 yards.
The Browns will look to rebound next week but it won’t be easy. They’ll face another divisional foe, heading on the road to take on Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.
