A.J. Woods joined the Eagles practice squad on September 10th after spending time with the Commanders during training camp and preseason. Woods, a Germantown native who attended Pitt, was a two-way player at Northwest High School for coach Mike Neubeiser. Now, he is helping his teammates prepare for the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
Woods went undrafted in the 2024 NFL Draft, but signed as an undrafted free agent with the Washington Commanders. After spending training camp and preseason with the Commanders, Washington released Woods on August 28th. The Philadelphia Eagles signed him to their practice squad on September 10th where he has remained for the duration of the season.
The “practice squad” is a group of players who are on the team, but not on the active roster. The players practice with the team and can be called up to the active roster if needed, such as in case of injuries or other roster changes. Practice squad player a vital role in the NFL, providing teams with depth and allowing them to develop talent for potential future roles on the active roster.
During his senior year of college, Woods played in all 12 games for Pitt in 2023– making five starts at corner. He totaled 30 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, one interception and three pass breakups. Woods had a season-high five tackles against North Carolina. In arguably his best game of the season, he had four total (including three tackles for loss and two sacks) at Wake Forest. He was selected to play in the East-West Shrine Bowl.