PHILADELPHIA – The next week is a busy one for Chip Kelly and the Philadelphia Eagles. They play two road preseason games – one Saturday night in Green Bay and one Thursday against the New York Jets – and face two rounds of roster cuts by next Saturday.

NFL rosters have to be cut from 90 to 75 by Tuesday at 4 p.m. They have to be down to the final 53-man roster by next Saturday at 4 p.m.

Kelly said that cuts will be “definitely more difficult this year than it was in the last two years.”

In Kelly’s first season, there were several players he inherited from Andy Reid’s 4-12 2012 team. During the last two years Kelly has whittled away at that group, getting rid of players who didn’t fit his specifications.

This year, Kelly will be cutting a roster he has built up through three drafts and three free agency periods. There are more players who were acquired with his offensive and defensive schemes in mind.

“I think we have more depth,” Kelly said, “so I believe we'll cut some players that will make other rosters. I'm hoping. That's our goal for all of our players, and we tell them that on Day 1 -- I want them to play in the NFL. Hopefully, it's on our team. If it's not on our team, it's on another team.

“But it is going to be difficult and we'll have to sit down long and hard after this Packer game and when it's difficult to get to 75, I think from a coaching standpoint that's a good thing. But there is still a human factor that gets involved with cutting somebody, and that part is not a lot of fun.”

Of the players who traveled to Green Bay, 37 won’t be on the team one week later. A few will likely wind up on the Eagles’ practice squad, but close to 30 will scatter. Some might wind up on other teams; others will work out in hopes of getting another chance next year.

This group has largely been together since May. In one busy week, it will finish the preseason and go through two tough rounds of cuts.