The Philadelphia Eagles, who already have more former Alabama players than any other team in the NFL, have added another to their roster, the team revealed on Monday.
Ross Pierschbacher, an offensive lineman, has joined the Philadelphia practice squad, filling the space left by the signing of Julian Good-Jones by the Washington Commanders last week.
All of those players are currently on the Eagles’ active roster. Pierschbacher had three teammates at Alabama.
Pierschbacher had been out of the NFL since August 13, when he was released by the Detroit Lions as part of an injury settlement. Pierschbacher had started at center in Detroit’s preseason opener two days previously.
Pierschbacher played the first nine offensive snaps for the Lions in a 21-16 victory over the New York Giants on Aug. 11. He left the game with 7:04 left in the first quarter. The Lions did not announce the nature of Pierschbacher’s injury, but he left the game after right guard Colby Sorsdal fell on the back of the center’s right leg. Detroit had signed Pierschbacher to a one-year, $1.035 million contract extension in March to prevent him from becoming an unrestricted free agent.
Pierschbacher spent most of the 2022 campaign on Detroit’s practice squad, then joined the active roster on Dec. 10. A fifth-round selection of the Washington Redskins in the 2019 NFL Draft, Pierschbacher has played in 11 NFL regular-season games – five for Washington in 2019, three for Philadelphia in 2020 and three for Detroit in 2022. He’s been on the field for one offensive snap and 39 special-teams plays.
Pierschbacher spent the most of the 2021 season on the practice squad of the New York Jets. Pierschbacher signed with the Lions for his fourth NFL season on September 8, 2022, after being released by the Jets at the end of the preseason.
Pierschbacher was recruited by Alabama offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland when he was with the Crimson Tide.
Each NFL team has up to 16 players on its practice squad. Two of the players can be promoted to active status for each game, making them eligible to play.
