PHILADELPHIA -- Jeremy Bloom fared better on the slopes than a football field.
The two-time Olympic skier was among 22 players cut by the Philadelphia Eagles to reach the 53-man roster limit on Saturday. A fifth-round draft pick in 2006, Bloom never played a down in the regular season.
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He spent his entire rookie year on injured reserve and hoped to make the team as a return specialist and extra wide receiver. Bloom averaged 20.3 yards on 12 kickoff returns in the preseason and 7.8 yards on 10 punt returns.
"We wanted more production out of Jeremy and we didn't get it," general manager Tom Heckert said.
Unless the Eagles add a returner, wideout Greg Lewis will return punts and running back Correll Buckhalter will return kicks.
Rocca averaged 45.4 yards per punt in the preseason with a net average of 38.9 yards. Johnson had a gross average of 43.9 yards and a net of 34.8 yards. Last season, Johnson averaged 42.6 yards gross, the highest of his career but 18th overall in the NFL.
"That was the hardest decision we had to make," Heckert said. "It was really close. I think Dirk will be punting for somebody next week. It was a close competition, but we decided to go with Sav because he has a big, big, leg."
The speedy-but-undersized Bloom, listed at 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, played two seasons at Colorado before the NCAA ruled he was ineligible in the fall of 2004 because he accepted endorsements to keep his career as a skier on track. He had 24 receptions as a wide receiver, and scored five touchdowns of 75 yards or more returning punts and kickoffs.
After returning from a sixth-place finish at the Turin Olympics in February 2006, Bloom went to the NFL scouting combine, where he ran a 4.4-second 40-yard dash. Bloom finished ninth at the Olympics in 2002.
Other players released include: running back Nate Ilaoa; cornerbacks Rashad Barksdale and Dustin Fox; fullbacks Jeremy Cain and Jason Davis; defensive tackles Mauricio Lopez and Jeremy Clark; wide receivers Zac Collie, Bill Sampy, J.J. Outlaw and Michael Gasperson; linebackers Tank Daniels and Dedrick Roper; safeties C.J. Gaddis and Erick Harris; offensive linemen Jasper Harvey, Jonathan Palmer and Jacob Hobbs; defensive end Marques Murrell and tight end Lee Vickers.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
