The Philadelphia Eagles have added depth to a crowded wide receiver room, signing Tahj Washington and waiving Brandon Hayes in a corresponding move.
The signing comes two days after Miami released Washington and just days before Friday’s preseason finale against the Cincinnati Bengals and the Sunday deadline to trim the roster to 53.
Washington, 25, was Miami’s seventh-round pick (241st overall) out of USC in the 2024 NFL Draft. He missed his entire rookie season after tearing his ACL and appeared in six games for the Dolphins in 2025, catching three passes for 37 yards.
The Dolphins waived him after drafting three receivers in 2026 and after a muffed punt in a preseason loss to the Giants.
The 5-foot-10, 174-pound receiver arrives in Philadelphia with a productive college résumé and a familiar face in the building. After two seasons at Memphis, where he earned Freshman All-American honors in 2020, Washington transferred to USC and spent three years with the Trojans.
In his final college season in 2023, he led USC with 59 receptions for 1,062 yards and eight touchdowns. He also led the Pac-12 with 18.0 yards per catch and earned All-Pac-12 honors for a second straight year.
That 2023 campaign came in the same USC receiving room as current Eagles first-round pick Makai Lemon. Washington also has return experience from college. Another connection: Eagles quarterbacks coach Parks Frazier served as an offensive assistant in Miami during Washington’s rookie year.
Making the 53-man roster will be difficult. Philadelphia already has DeVonta Smith, Lemon, Dontayvion Wicks, Hollywood Brown, Elijah Moore and several other veterans and specialists competing for spots.
Washington is a slot-sized player whose production at USC came after he transferred into Lincoln Riley’s offense; evaluators have long noted that his size and route polish will need to translate at the next level after limited NFL snaps and a lost rookie year.
Still, the move is a low-risk look at a player who posted a 1,000-yard season as a senior and has special-teams value.
Hayes, an undrafted receiver out of Southeastern Louisiana, had been signed and released multiple times this offseason. Washington now has a short window to show the coaching staff something before final cuts.
Whether he sticks in Philadelphia or lands on the practice squad, the signing gives the Eagles another look at a former 1,000-yard college receiver with ties to both the current roster and the staff.
