August 09, 2024
The Philadelphia Eagles will play their first preseason game Friday night in Baltimore against the Ravens, who had won 24 straight preseason games before they finally lost one last year to the Washington Commanders. Here are our five things to watch.
In each of his last two press conferences, Nick Sirianni was asked if the starters would play during the preseason. He declined to answer.
If the starters are going to play at all, it would likely be Friday night against the Ravens. A joint practice in New England — which the Eagles view as game-like — precedes their second preseason matchup against the Patriots, and their final preseason game — this year against the Vikings — is typically reserved for the bubble players fighting for roster spots and guys who have no real shot of making the team. The starters are highly unlikely to play in either of those games.
While some players have said that this Eagles training camp has been harder than others during the Sirianni era, the length and number of practices are still shorter and fewer than most teams around the NFL. The focus, of course, is to remain healthy for the start of the regular season. So far during the Sirianni era, the Eagles have been healthy for Week 1, and in fact were the last remaining unbeaten team in the NFL each of the last two seasons. However, they would be wise to be wary of weighting results over process, given that the team was sloppy in each of their first two games in 2023 against inferior opponents, and frankly, lucky to win.
The theoretical risk in taking it easy during training camp and the preseason is that the team might not be in the best position to play at a high level when the real games come around, whereas teams with tougher camps with more time on the practice field might be more prepared. Would playing the starters have any real, tangible benefit that would help them prepare for the regular season? Or is putting starters in harm's way not worth the risk?
It's probably worth noting that in the last preseason game that the Eagles played their starters, in 2022, Jalen Hurts took a cheap shot out of bounds by the Jets' Quincy Williams.
Quincy Williams with a late hit on Jalen Hurts 😳
— PFF (@PFF) August 12, 2022
pic.twitter.com/Zwx1crjDsm
It's an interesting debate that will be further complicated by expected bad weather Friday night from the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby.
I have no inside information here, but I'd guess the most important starters will sit. We'll see.
Whether the starters play or not, we're nearly certain to see a pair of players vying to start at right guard in Mekhi Becton and Tyler Steen.
Steen began camp as the favorite to win the starting RG job, but he injured his ankle in the third training camp practice, and Becton took over as the first-team RG. When Steen returned in a limited capacity in the eighth practice of camp — and even as a full participant in the team's latest practice, their tenth — Becton remained with the first-team offense, while Steen was with the 2's.
Becton hasn't really done anything special to rip the job away from Steen, but he seems to have leapfrogged him in the pecking order anyway. It will be good to see each player get reps against a team that plays its starters in the preseason, and has a good defense.
Pickett is the QB2 behind Hurts, but over the last week McKee has gotten some second-team reps. Still, training camp reps are hard to come by for backups during camp, especially with Hurts trying to learn a new offense under Kellen Moore. They'll get plenty of reps in the preseason games.
For McKee to unseat Pickett as the No. 2, McKee would probably have to look really good, and Pickett would have to look really bad.
When training camp began, the Eagles did not employ a receiver clearly capable of being the team's third wide receiver, much less a player who could fill in as a WR2 should A.J. Brown or DeVonta Smith get hurt.
They have a couple of free agent speedster busts they acquired in free agency hoping to revive their careers (Parris Campbell and John Ross), a couple of rookies selected on Day 3 of the draft (Ainias Smith and Johnny Wilson), and a punt returner (Britain Covey) who has not gotten many opportunities as a receiver in the regular offense his first two years in the league, though maybe he should have.
Wilson is a 6'6, 233-pound freak of nature who has been praised by Hurts for his work ethic. He has made some plays in camp and has gotten some first-team reps. Covey has also gotten some run with the 1's, and has made his share of receptions. Campbell suffered a groin injury and the others have been mostly invisible in practice.
Wilson is the player the Eagles will have a close eye on. He has an opportunity to show that he can be trusted during the regular season if called upon.
Absent a standout performance by somebody, Howie Roseman could accelerate efforts to trade for a more tried-and-true third receiver.
Like with Becton and Steen at RG above, there are jobs to be won at the second outside cornerback spot opposite Darius Slay, as well as in the slot. Isaiah Rodgers and Kelee Ringo have gotten most of the first-team reps at outside corner with the 1's, with Rodgers getting significantly more reps than Ringo in recent practices. Quinyon Mitchell has become a mainstay in the slot.
Mitchell, the Eagles' first round pick, will draw most of the attention from the fans, most of whom will be getting their first ever look at the rookie. There should be similar intrigue with Rodgers, a player the Eagles essentially got for free a year ago after the Colts cut him for violating the league's policy on gambling. It will be interesting to see how they both play in their initial showcase in Eagles uniforms.
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