The Eagles announced on Monday that they have signed wide receivers Reggie Davis, Braxton Miller, and Dorren Miller to their practice squad. In a corresponding move, Philadelphia released second-year tight end Billy Brown from the taxi squad.
Over the weekend, Alex Gleitman of 247Sports reported that the former Ohio State quarterback/wide receiver was expected to sign with the team this week, pending a physical.
Miller was surprisingly cut by the Houston Texans on Sept. 1, after being drafted by them in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
In 21 games with Houston, the 6-foot-1 wide receiver had 34 receptions (57 targets) for 261 yards and two touchdowns.
This summer, Miller was reportedly competing for the starting slot wide receiver job in Houston and it appeared that he was improving.
“He’s come a long ways in the years he’s been here,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said in early August (h/t Houston Chronicle). “He’s going to have to go out there and continue to get better and improve, but I do see a lot of improvement with him. He’s gotten better at knowledge of the offense. He’s a better route-runner.”
“He’s a versatile guy. He can do some different things. His skill set, his size, his ability to run downfield routes, run underneath routes. I think his hands have improved. He’s definitely a guy that can do a little bit of everything.”
However, despite his versatility, it was not enough for him to win a spot on the Texans’ 53-man roster. After being released, Miller worked out for the Arizona Cardinals on Friday per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
It does not come as a surprise that the Eagles are bringing aboard Miller. He is only 25-years-old, still has room to develop, and they are fairly light at wide receiver.
Miller is not a project like Terrelle Pryor was, who also played quarterback at Ohio State and a little bit in the NFL, before making the switch to wide receiver.
The 6-foot-1 Miller had the chance to play wide receiver for an entire season as a redshirt senior at Ohio State. In 2015, he had a modest 43 receptions for 261 yards and three touchdowns.
By no means, did he set the college football world on fire, but showed bits and pieces of what he could become if given a chance in the NFL. Before running routes at Ohio State, Miller was a fantastic dual-threat quarterback.
As a freshman, Miller completed 54.1 percent of his passes for 1,159 yards with 13 touchdowns and four interceptions. But on the ground, he had 715 yards and seven touchdowns.
The next two seasons in Columbus, Miller took off, passing for over a combined 4,000 yards and rushing for a combined 2,000 plus yards.
He was an absolute star at Ohio State and could ultimately play some snaps during the regular season with the Eagles.
As previously stated, Philly’s wide receiver depth on the 53-man roster is shaky with second-year Mack Hollins on IR and veteran Alshon Jeffery still working his way back from torn rotator cuff surgery.
Therefore, the only wide receivers on the roster are Nelson Agholor, Mike Wallace, DeAndre Carter, and Markus Wheaton.
It is not an impressive group by any means necessary and the only guy that really commands attention is Agholor.
That being said, the Eagles need some more explosive playmakers until Jeffery returns. Miller would be an immediate upgrade over Wheaton, who was re-signed last week and could be used in multiple ways within the offense.
