Today was the Philadelphia Eagles’ third practice before the 2024 season. The session lasted over 90 minutes. Here’s what I observed at the NovaCare complex.
EAGLES TRAINING NOTES
- UPDATE ON JALEN HURTS: Hurts started the strength workout with two 1-on-1 passes. First, Hurts’ pass to Parris Campbell hit him in the end zone after the receiver got a step from Darius Slay on the right sideline. The perfect throw went straight into the basket. Hurts then hit DeVonta Smith on the left sideline with Isaiah Rodgers trailing. Video of the second pass is first in the following clip:
Hurts wasn’t quite as He was good in team drills like he was the first two days, but he was still good. That may have something to do with the Eagles defense stepping up its blitz. Still, his accuracy was almost always on point, with the ball rarely touching the ground. A rare exception came when Hurts threw a little high to an open Grant Calcaterra on a play where Johnny Wilson also looked pretty open further down the field on the same side. Hurts also kept the ball on the ball a little longer than he did on Days 1 and 2.
After throwing a couple of interceptions in spring practice, Hurts has done a very good job of taking care of the ball during camp. Not only has he not thrown an interception, he hasn’t even come close. Not a single throw that could cause a turnover.
Day 1: Thumbs up
Day 2: Thumbs up
Day 3: Thumbs up
- EAGLES INJURY INFO: Jeremiah Trotter Jr. wasn’t even on the injured list after Thursday’s scare, which is good to see. Landon Dickerson was removed from the injured list after missing the first day and being limited the second. Tyler Steen left practice early but no one seemed to see him get hurt. Oren Burks (knee) and Brett Toth (hamstring) both missed another practice. Sydney Brown is still active/PUP while Cooper DeJean and Shaquan Davis are still active/NFI.
- With Steen’s early departure, Darian Kinnard has taken over at first-team right guard. If you don’t already know who he is, the Eagles signed Kinnard to a futures contract earlier this year. He was originally a 2022 fifth-round pick (No. 145 overall) of the Kansas City Chiefs. Kinnard spent last season on KC’s practice squad. He appears to be a legitimate contender to make the Eagles’ roster.
- The Eagles called up Mekhi Becton for a few fill-ins at right tackle on the first team, while Lane Johnson got some rest for the veteran. They also called up rookie Trevor Keegan for a few fill-ins at left guard in place of Landon Dickerson.
- Second-team offensive line, from left: Fred Johnson, Trevor Keegan, Matt Hennessy, Darian Kinnard, Mekhi Becton.
- English:Flash: DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown are still very good. If you didn’t see it in the previous video, Smith won a jump ball against Kelee Ringo for a big gain. This pass was made on a repetition that was probably a sack but, hey, it’s still great work by DeVonta. One catch that the Eagles social team didn’t share was when DeVonta made a catch in stride with his hands extended above his head. Impressive job of catching it while staying upright for a potential YAC. Brown made a number of good catches, including a one-handed effort down the left sideline to beat Ringo that looked pretty casual and easy. Ho-hum.
- CORNERBACKS TRAINING CAMP: Darius Slay and Kelee Ringo were the first-team cornerbacks. This is the second straight time Ringo has been named first. Isaiah Rodgers was then the first-team cornerback opposite Slay in the second 11-on-11 series. Eli Ricks saw some first-team cornerback reps later in practice.
- LINEBACKERS TRAINING CAMP: BATTLE: For the third straight day, Zack Baun and Devin White were the team’s first linebackers to start 11-on-11 drills. And again for the second 11-on-11 series. Nakobe Dean was the first to play linebacker in 7-on-7 drills.
- Dean was the only linebacker in a dime package with Quinyon Mitchell coming in as the dime CB.
- Kenny Gainwell was targeted a few times early on in 11-on-11. Again, it’s not like he’s going to outplay Saquon Barkley. The Eagles are particularly fond of rotating their guards during camp. But Gainwell isn’t exactly a non-negligible factor from a usage standpoint.
- On Saturday’s episode of Go Birds Radio on SportsRadio 94WIP, which I was a special guest on, ESP pointed out how the Eagles have been pretty clean collectively. Not a lot of sloppiness, which is a contrast to how the team looked at the start of camp last year. I think there may be something to this group being hungry and having something to prove after last year ended on such a sour note. Knowing that he’s under a lot of pressure to perform, Nick Sirianni seems to have the team locked down.
- Kenny Pickett threw a dime pass for over 30 yards down the left sideline to Britain Covey, who was closely followed by Quinyon Mitchell. Covey could do enough to show that he’s not JUST a punt returner. I don’t know if he should be the full-time WR3, but he could be part of a rotation for that role.
- John Ross made an impressive catch as he leapt along the right sideline; he rose high enough to catch it and then landed in bounds with a kick. Later, Ross had another chance to make another catch on the sideline, but he was unable to keep both feet in. A nearby official signaled the catch was incomplete.
- Ainias Smith has had a rough start. His struggles in spring practice have carried over into training camp. Smith once again dropped a pass and was also flagged for offensive interference at one point. Perhaps the rookie will settle in and turn things around, but for now, he doesn’t seem like a sure thing for the team.
- CJ Uzomah seemed slow. A number of targets thrown at him were a bit too long, which makes me think he doesn’t run fast enough. Or maybe it’s just a coincidence.
- It looks like Johnny Wilson got away with a big push for a hold against Mario Goodrich III. No call from the refs, but it seemed pretty obvious.
- Josh Jobe was grilled by Griffin Hebert on the right sideline in a 1-on-1.
- Julian Okwara gave rookie undrafted free agent right tackle Anim Dankwah a run for his money, recording at least one sack on Pickett.
FOLLOWING: The Eagles will have a day off Sunday, their first day since players reported to camp Tuesday. The team will return to action Monday morning at 10 a.m. ET.