The Philadelphia Eagles are adding a 10th former Alabama player to their preseason roster in an NFL trade with the Houston Texans.
The Eagles are getting wide receiver John Metchie III from the Texans, the Philadelphia Inquirer, NFL Network and ESPN reported on Sunday.
Philadelphia’s roster features five players who were teammates of Metchie’s at Alabama, including wide receiver DeVonta Smith. For the Crimson Tide’s undefeated CFP national-championship team in 2020, Smith had 117 receptions for 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns as he won the Heisman Trophy. Metchie was Alabama’s No. 2 receiver as he caught 55 passes for 916 yards and six touchdowns.
On the Texans’ depth chart this week, Metchie was listed with the third team, which put him outside the six receivers that NFL teams typically carry on their regular-season active rosters.
Through the Texans’ first two preseason games, Metchie ranks as Houston’s leading receiver with six receptions for 53 yards.
Metchie joins Philadelphia with Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J. Brown dealing with a hamstring injury during training camp.
The Eagles’ depth chart shows Brown, Smith and Jahan Dotson as Philadelphia’s first-team wide receivers, with Johnny Wilson, Ainias Smith and Terrace Marshall as the second-teamers.
Dotson had 19 receptions for 216 yards, Smith had seven receptions for 41 yards and one touchdown and Wilson had five receptions for 38 yards and one touchdown for the Eagles in regular-season play in 2024. Marshall had three receptions for 41 yards for the Las Vegas Raiders last season.
Last season, Metchie played in 13 regular-season games, including his first three NFL starts, and caught 24 passes for 254 yards and one touchdown. He followed that with six receptions for 63 yards in two playoff games.
Metchie joined Houston as a second-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft after catching 151 passes for 2,058 yards and 14 touchdowns in his final two seasons at Alabama. But just before the start of his first training camp, Metchie was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia, and he spent his rookie season overcoming cancer instead of playing football.
In his delayed debut, Metchie had 16 receptions for 158 yards in 16 regular-season games and three receptions for 44 yards in two postseason contests in the 2023 campaign.
The Eagles’ other former Alabama players include:
Jihaad Campbell, linebacker
Landon Dickerson, guard
Jalen Hurts, quarterback
Cameron Latu, tight end
Eli Ricks, cornerback
Keilan Robinson, running back
DeVonta Smith, wide receiver
Tyler Steen, offensive lineman
Byron Young, defensive tackle
Dickerson, Latu, Robinson, Smith and Young played with Metchie at Alabama.
In the trade, Metchie and a sixth-round draft pick are going to Philadelphia for tight end Harrison Bryant and a fifth-round draft pick. The draft picks are the same ones the teams exchanged in March when safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson went to Houston for guard Kenyon Green
Philadelphia plays the New York Jets at 6:30 p.m. CDT Friday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in its preseason finale. The Eagles’ regular season kicks off on Sept. 4 against the Dallas Cowboys.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at@AMarkG1.
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