Eagles Brutally Cut Rookie WR Just One Week After Losing His Mother – A Staggering Shock

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – August 27, 2025

The Philadelphia Eagles made one of the coldest decisions of the summer on Tuesday, releasing a rookie wide receiver just a week after he lost his mother to lung cancer.

The move came as part of the NFL’s 53-man roster deadline — a period always filled with tough conversations and shattered dreams. For Philadelphia, a crowded wide receiver room left little margin, forcing the front office to cut a player many fans had grown sympathetic toward.

That player was Ife Adeyi, an undrafted rookie wideout signed earlier this summer. Once viewed as a potential underdog success story, Adeyi found himself squeezed out by the depth chart led by A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, rookie standout Darius Cooper.

What made the decision especially harsh is the timing: just one week ago, Adeyi lost his mother back home in Texas after a battle with lung cancer. He requested two days away from camp to attend the funeral, then returned immediately to Philadelphia determined to turn grief into fuel.

His mother had been his greatest source of inspiration, the one who pushed him to pursue football from the very beginning. Adeyi once shared that every time he steps onto the field, he remembers her words: “Play with your whole heart.”

In an emotional statement, Adeyi said:
“I came back to practice right after the funeral to fight for my mom. I thought I’d done enough to stay. To be cut right now… it’s a shock I’ll never forget.”

Coaches praised Adeyi’s resilience and highlighted flashes during the preseason — two impressive catches against the Browns and a critical third-down conversion against the Jets. But overall production remained too limited to guarantee a roster spot.

Inside the locker room, the move hit hard. A veteran player shared: “He came back to camp just two days after burying his mother. Most of us couldn’t even get out of bed after something like that. The kid showed true fight — that’s real Philly grit. To see him cut like this? It hurts.”

Adeyi now heads to waivers, with the possibility of being re-signed to the Eagles’ practice squad if unclaimed. While his NFL path remains uncertain, teammates and fans alike believe his story is far from over.

Whether he stays in Philadelphia or finds a new home, this cut will remain a painful reminder: in the NFL, even personal tragedy cannot slow down the ruthless machinery of roster decisions.