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When Chris Polk saw the number on his phone, he figured his time in Philadelphia was up.

The Eagles running back sat around and waited Friday. He couldn’t eat. He couldn’t sleep. He made sure he had his ringer on loud.

About 16 hours earlier, Polk was in the end zone, celebrating a 3-yard touchdown in the Eagles’ final preseason game against the Jets. Now, he was waiting to find out if it was time to turn in his playbook.

“It didn’t ring until Coach Duce [Staley] called me from his office phone, which I didn’t have stored,” Polk said. “It’s a 2-1-5 number, so I was like ‘Oh man, I’m cut.’ I waited until the last ring to actually answer it.”

Brandon Boykin was checking Twitter Friday afternoon when he got the news.

“People were saying ‘Congratulations on winning the slot position.’ And I’m like what? What’s going on? Did somebody make an announcement or something?” Boykin said. “I checked my Twitter, and it said Joselio [Hanson] had been released or whatever, and like 10 minutes later, he called me.”

The Eagles rookie cornerback played with the second team for all of training camp, but in the preseason, he mixed in with Hanson and the starters. The coaches liked what they saw and decided the athletic fourth-round pick was ready to get on the field right away.

If NFL personnel people were starting a franchise and had their pick of any coach in America, who would they choose?

That was one of the questions Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com (a former scout for the Eagles) posed to 20 personnel people, and none of them chose Andy Reid.

David Sims‘ phone rang early last summer.

The new Eagles safety had spent training camp with the New York Giants. But around 8 a.m. on cut-down day, he found out the team was letting him go.

Sims had a short stint with the Bucs during the season before eventually signing onto the Browns’ practice squad.

“When I was with the Giants and I got cut, it put heartache on me because they made me doubt my ability to play,” Sims said. “So I had to go back to the drawing board and work 10 times harder than I already was doing so I wouldn’t be put in a situation like that again if I had the opportunity. It made me open my eyes, made me want to work harder than I already was working.”

But for much of this past Friday, despite a strong preseason, it looked like Sims’ hard work wasn’t enough. This time, the call came later, but it still came.

Donovan McNabb may be ready to give up any hope of returning to the NFL.

Liz Mullen of the SportsBusiness Journal first reported that McNabb is close to agreeing to a network job. A source close to McNabb tells Tim McManus that it looks like he will be doing a couple of shows for the NFL Network.

The former Eagles quarterback has been honing his television skills for years, appearing as a guest analyst on ESPN and other networks.

Jon Gruden believes in the Eagles.

The ESPN analyst appeared on a SportsCenter segment Sunday morning and offered predictions for every NFC East team. He was asked if he thought the Eagles would win more or less than 11 games this season.

David Sims worked two jobs: He was on a garbage truck during the day and stocking at Sam’s Club at night.

Acquired from Cleveland in a trade Friday night, the Eagles’ newest safety has taken an unconventional path to the NFL.

The Eagles have waived cornerback Trevard Lindley and added offensive lineman Nathan Menkin. Also, updates on Julian Vandervelde, Brett Brackett and Mike Kafka.

Here’s a position-by-position analysis of the Eagles’ defense, as the roster currently stands. If you missed the earlier post on the offense, click here.

Here’s a position-by-position analysis of the Eagles’ offense, as the roster currently stands.

Nineteen players have been cut, and the Eagles’ roster is at 56. They have to get down to 53 by 9 p.m.

A quick look at who’s still here, and what could be coming.

The Eagles’ decision to part ways with veteran Joselio Hanson signified one thing above all else: They have confidence in rookie Brandon Boykin.

If the coaches had their doubts about Boykin, they could have held on to Hanson, let him start the season as the nickel cornerback and gradually eased the rookie into that role. Instead, Boykin gets the nod right away.

Forgive Chris Polk if he had trouble containing his excitement.

Standing by his locker, it was clear this night was special. Only the preseason? Not after the path he’d taken to get here.

It’s tough to get an exact read on what Jeffrey Lurie’s expectations were in 2011.

The simplest way to put it is probably this: The Eagles owner was disappointed with the results, but he understands why the team wasn’t more successful.

“It didn’t create the kind of season we expected last year,” Lurie said Thursday, after mentioning how the team added Nnamdi Asomugha, Cullen Jenkins, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Evan Mathis and Jason Babin last summer. “But we didn’t do it for a single year advancement. We did it for the long term and how to elevate a team. That was a unique chance to do that.”

With so many other topics to cover – Andy Reid, Michael Vick, Joe Banner – it took until the final question of Jeffrey Lurie’s press conference for someone to mention Juan Castillo.

Luckily, though, our boy McManus was able to ask the owner about the Eagles’ defensive coordinator. And his response was telling.

Is Lurie comfortable with Castillo? Does he feel he is the right man for the job?