The Eagles were awarded 23-year-old defensive tackle Byron Young on waivers Thursday, a day after he was released by the Raiders.
Young was the Raiders’ 3rd-round pick last year, the 70th player taken overall. But he only played in six games as a rookie, with just 99 snaps on defense and 13 on special teams. He survived the Raiders’ initial round of cuts on Tuesday but was a surprise cut on Wednesday.
Since drafting Young, the Raiders have changed general managers and coaches – G.M. Dave Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels were fired in November, and Tom Telesco is the new GM and Antonio Pierce the head coach.
Interesting to note that Pierce was named interim head coach on Nov. 1, and Young was inactive for all 10 games after the coaching change.
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In a corresponding move, the Eagles released veteran defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu. The 2021 sixth-round pick has played in 28 games over the last three seasons. Young is now the sixth interior defensive lineman behind Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Milton Williams, Moro Ojomo and Thomas Booker.
Young, 6-foot-3, 295 pounds, is the eighth former 3rd-round pick from another team the Eagles have acquired since last year ended. Three are currently on the 53-man roster – Young, Oren Burks and Zach Baun – two are on the practice squad – Will Grier and Tyrion Davis-Price – and three are no longer with the team – Julian Okwara, Terrell Lewis and Matt Hennessy.
Young is the sixth former Alabama player on the roster, joining Landon Dickerson, Eli Ricks, DeVonta Smith and Tyler Steen. Jalen Hurts played for Alabama but finished at Oklahoma.
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Young had 20 tackles for loss, 7 ½ sacks and three pass deflections in three seasons at Alabama.
The Eagles now have three of the first seven players taken in the third round of the 2023 draft. Steen was 65 overall, Sydney Brown was 66 and Young was 70.
The Eagles are 22nd in waiver claim priority, which means none of the 21 teams that had a worse record in 2023 filed a waiver claim for Young.
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