PHILADELPHIA – This time, it feels like the Eagles have finally moved on from embattled punter Arryn Siposs.
Many fans rejoiced at the cutdown to 53 when Philadelphia waived the strong-legged Aussie but the organization quickly responded by saying punters would be brought in for workouts but there was a good chance that Siposs was going to be back.
The real maneuvering seemed to be protecting young cornerbacks like Eli Ricks and Mario Goodrich from waivers by manipulating Siposs and punt returner Britain Covey onto the practice squad before elevating them on game days.
That strategy extended things for three weeks when the elevations would run out for both players and it turns out that Siposs only lasted two before being released from the PS in favor of one of the punters the Eagles had previously worked out, former Jets and Steelers punter Braden Mann.
The clock on three elevations for Mann will start on Monday night in Tampa Bay against the Buccaneers before the Eagles have to make a long-term decision on him.
“First of all, we thought Arryn did a great job in training camp and was growing. So we felt like we were ready to go into the season with Arryn in there,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said Monday. “After two weeks, we decided we wanted to make a change.”
Siposs was not impressive in last Thursday’s 34-28 win over Minnesota mishitting one open-field punt in which he was bailed out by Justin Evans forcing a fumble after Brandon Powell returned it 20 yards.
Mann, 25, was most recently with the Steelers and lost a training camp battle Pressley Harvin. Before that the Jets decided veteran Thomas Morestead was a better option.
The Eagles, meanwhile, previously tried to claim Mann when the Jets waived him but lost out to the Steelers.
In college, Mann was an All-American at Texas A&M and won the Ray Guy award as the nation’s top punter in 2019 before the Jets made him a sixth-round pick in 2020.
The career stats of Siposs and Mann are pretty similar with Siposs sporting a 44.6 gross average, 38.7 net, and 35 punts inside the 20 out of 107 total opportunities (32.7%). In 206 punts, Mann has a 45.4 average, 39.3 net, and 60 inside the 20 (29.1%),
Another piece to the puzzle is Jake Elliott, who had become very comfortable with Siposs as his holder and has turned into one of the top kickers in football.
“Obviously, Braden has got tape out there that we obviously paid a lot of attention to,” Sirianni said. “Which got him to where we brought him in to punt. And we liked his punts when he was here and his holds and everything. We were confident in the decision for that to happen now.”
The extra time in the so-called mini-bye played into Philadelphia’s decision-making.
“We have a little bit of a longer week to make sure the operation’s clean,” said Sirianni. “That’s why it is the way it is right now.”
Through the first two weeks of the season, Siposs was averaging 43.4 yards per punt with a 38.4 net so he had slightly declined from his typical performance.
In addition to Mann, the Eagles had brought in undrafted free agent Ty Zentner during the spring and summer and then worked out three additional punters before the season and were hoping the added competition would help Siposs rebound.
“Competition is always great,” special teams coordinator Michael Clay. “Him coming in day in, day out, trying to get better each day. We’re going to feel going into week one, putting him out there, comfortability, making him as comfortable as possible to get out there.”
Ultimately, Siposs didn’t respond to the Eagles’ liking.
