Eagles Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz said roster cut day is the “worst” of the year for coaches. Photo by Andy Lewis / contrastphotography.com

Eagles players and coaches have been together now for four months; five months if you weren’t a draft pick.

Over that time this group became a team, many players call it a brotherhood. Ninety young men put together to make the 53-man roster, plus eight more who land on the practice squad.

Coaches will tell you this Friday is a day they dread every year; it’s the day the team must make the cuts. Dreams are ended for some, uncertainty for others, great joy for those on the bubble who make the cut.

“It’s without a doubt the worst day of this job,” Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said earlier this week. “To see guys that work as hard as everybody else, that literally don’t get on that bus. You certainly feel for those guys, but at the same time you’re also appreciative for what they’ve done and know that they’ve played some role in the team.”

One player who is still a long shot to make the team is wide receiver Tim Wilson. The rookie free agent played high school football at Radnor High School before heading to East Stroudsburg where he enjoyed an outstanding career.

Wilson is hanging in there. He has yet to record a catch after three preseason games.

“My thoughts are just to go out there and make plays and have fun,” said Wilson, who has yet to catch a pass this preseason. “At the end of the day, I haven’t gotten to play as much as I wanted to in the first three preseason games…so I just want to go out there and have fun , catch the ball, make plays and help this team get a win in the preseason.”

Like all players trying out, he wants to get his play on film for all the teams to see. But he has to have catches on film to do that. He knows he has to make that happen Thursday against the Jets.

“I have to make myself available, I have to know my plays, run my routes the right way, get open. I’m exited and hope to gt more reps than those first three games. If it’s not here, I know I can play in this league.”

One guy who knows the Birds have plans for him in the future for him is Jordan Mailata, the 6-foot-8, 346-pound former rugby player out of Australia.

“I don’t know what to expect but I ‘m happy with the progress that I’ve made,” Mailata said at his locker on Monday. “But I can’t settle for it. I need to keep improving every week. I’ve got to show consistency. That’s my biggest thing right now.”

Mailata was picked in the seventh round. He never played football before coming to the Eagles. He has shown real progress, but his spot is far from guaranteed.

“I think I have to take it day-by-day,” Mailata said. “I’m not thinking that far ahead. I’m not thinking about my spot on the line. I’m just thinking…take it everyday. Don’t worry about tomorrow’s battle, worry about today’s battle. I need to get better everyday. Come [Thursday] I know there is going to ne a mission to carry out. I’m going to talk to Stout (O-line coach Jeff Stoutland) and he’s going to give me plans to work on that he wants t see during the game. I’m not going to be thinking about anything else.”

Schwartz was asked about the difficulty this time of year and the looming cuts no one actually wants to make.

“I don’t know that it gets highlighted enough,” Schwartz said. “I think there’s a dignity that’s involved in dealing with those guys. I said this last year when we were getting ready for the Super Bowl. We showed a picture of the Super Bowl trophy and you see all the fingerprints on it and you say, ‘Regardless of what your role was on this team, your fingerprints are going to be on that trophy. Whether you were on the practice squad and you were helping the offense. Whether you were an inactive or whether you were active, everybody had a role.’ And I’ll take that back and include training camp players. Even if you don’t make this team, you’ll have your fingerprint on the success of this team going forward.”

Schwartz made the point that all the players in camp are terrific football players. The NFL is for the elite.

“People don’t make teams for a lot of different reasons,” he said. “Whether it’s not a good scheme fit, maybe a numbers position or maybe an injury. It’s very rare that a guy just flat out isn’t talented enough. I mean, that certainly happens, but perseverance is a big thing. We’ve had a lot of players that have been undrafted and have been cut. I think [S] Chris Maragos was cut like three times before he made a roster coming out. He was, like, three straight training camps that he got called to the head coach’s office. That guy has been able to persevere and have a great career. So that happens all the time.
“I think the only thing I’d say to people on the outside looking in,” Schwartz continued, “I saw something where somebody called somebody a ‘scrub’ that was in a preseason game. I don’t think that’s necessarily the case. All these guys are here for a reason. All of them are here on their own merit. All of them have ability, that in the right circumstances and with enough perseverance and maybe being fortunate a little bit here and there, they can all get some traction.”

It was by far the longest answer Schwartz gave this year at a press conference…it’s that tough.

Follow Al Thompson on Twitter @thompsoniii