Hey New York Giants fans, stop me if you’ve heard this one before — the Eagles found a loophole no other team would touch, and it worked in their favor. The G-Men had the chance to sneakily upgrade their weakest offensive line link with the best rookie center from the entire preseason. Instead, they stood pat while Philly pushed judgment aside and went for it.
While Big Blue was busy finalizing their 53-man roster and giving John Michael Schmitz another year to try to prove he’s not a bust, Philadelphia went full grey-area and swiped former Rams UDFA center Willie Lampkin off waivers (per ESPN's Field Yates)... even though he was waived/injured, a designation almost every general manager traditionally avoids out of respect. Not Howie Roseman.
The Eagles claimed OL Willie Lampkin off of waivers from the Rams.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) August 27, 2025
Lampkin had been designated as waived/injury by the Rams. You don't see waived/injured players claimed often.
A testament to what Philly saw from him this preseason to claim him while he recovers from whatever…
This is the same team that found a loophole to make the tush push impossible to defend. Now they’re bending protocol again, snatching up the highest-graded rookie lineman of the preseason (88.1 Pro Football Focus grade) and adding him to an offensive line that's already widely considered the best in the league. It's so annoying, and something that could have been avoided had GM Joe Schoen acted more ruthlessly during waiver wire claims.
Highest Graded Rookie Offensive Lineman This Preseason:
— PFF College (@PFF_College) August 27, 2025
💪 Willie Lampkin: 88.1
New Bodyguard in Philly🦅 pic.twitter.com/AAviY189bu
Giants miss out on Willie Lampkin while Eagles exploit waiver loophole
Let’s not pretend the G-Men didn’t have a need. Big Blue's 2023 second-round pick was the biggest loser of the preseason, a title he earned by barely showing any signs of improvement and continuing to be a pass-blocking liability.
Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and head coach Brian Daboll are building a pass-heavy offense around Russell Wilson, Jaxson Dart, and Jameis Winston. JMS has repeatedly proven that he just isn’t built for it. And yet, he’s still penciled in as the starter. Why?
Lampkin presented a clear out. Schoen could’ve done what Roseman did: play dirty, scoop the 23-year-old, and finally fix the weakest part of the line without sacrificing draft capital or eating a bloated veteran contract. But he stood pat. Maybe it’s pride. Maybe it’s risk aversion. Maybe Schoen still thinks JMS is the answer despite 60 pressures and 11 sacks over the past two years.
Or maybe — and most likely —he didn't want to stoop to Philly's level.
There’s an unwritten NFL rule: teams don’t touch other teams' waived/injured players. It’s a courtesy move that lets the original team stash them on IR without the risk of losing them.
Whatever the logic, it is what it is — the Giants are rolling into Week 1 with a Swiss cheese interior and no real other plan. Meanwhile, the Eagles just made a potential long-term investment at every other team's expense by weaponizing a waiver technicality 30 other GMs refused to touch.
Sometimes playing a little dirty and toeing that grey area works in a team's favor. It certainly feels like it did for Philadelphia. It's a snake-like move, and one that could help them solidify their interior line for the next decade-plus. They'll have to hope so because they annoyed several other teams with this slippery move.
There's some jealousy there, since Lampkin would have been an easy get and a tremendous upgrade over JMS. You hate to see it. Maybe Schoen should take a page out of their book next time. Or better yet, maybe this is the year Schmitz figures it out.