PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles huddled as a full team after a sweltering 89-minute practice and sang “Happy Birthday” to quarterback Jalen Hurts. Among those serenading the 28-year-old quarterback? Lane Johnson, the franchise right tackle who returned to practice after missing nearly a week for personal reasons. Among those watching? Jaylen Brown, the NBA star who now plays across the street for the 76ers, attended the Eagles’ Friday practice.

With those key figures in mind, let’s get to what we observed, learned and heard in the seventh session of the summer:

1. The biggest news at practice was Johnson’s return. He’s one of the most valuable players on the team — he might be the best, even though he was excluded from the NFL Network’s top 100  — and there were few details about his absence when he was initially elsewhere for personal reasons. Johnson missed four sessions before he emerged from the weight room in uniform ahead of the horn to begin Saturday’s practice.
Johnson did not return to his full workload. He participated in individual drills, but the team is easing him back to practices, so Markel Bell continued to play with the first-team offense in team drills. But the key development for the Eagles was Johnson’s return to the team. Practice time is important for everyone — especially with a new offense — although in Year 14, what matters most with Johnson is that he’s available.

“Lane can pick things up very fast and (is a) phenomenal football player,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “I’m not concerned there. You get to see a little portion of each day out at practice, but there’s 12 more hours of the day where they’re in walkthroughs, they’re in meetings, and things like that. There’s so much more going on than the things you guys get to see here.”
How did his return go over with teammates? Jordan Davis said Johnson provides a “calming presence.”

“He’s a f—ing baller,” Davis said. “He’s a cornerstone.”

2. Hurts could celebrate his birthday on Friday night knowing he had a strong practice. It wasn’t a prolific day, although it was an efficient morning and he looked in command of the offense while playing without DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon for the third consecutive practice. Hurts connected on a deep ball with Darius Cooper, showed his chemistry with Dallas Goedert and involved Elijah Moore and Hollywood Brown in the passing game. He also tucked the ball and ran when needed.

The term Hurts used on Wednesday was “calibrating,” and he’s playing with command of the new offense even when it’s undermanned. There are times when Hurts must make those “wow” plays, but there’s also something to be said for an efficient practice when the ball seldom hits the ground. That’s how I’d describe his Friday session.

3. Center Cam Jurgens exited practice early. He went to the medical tent and then inside the building after evaluation. Jurgens walked to the tent on his own power with no apparent sign of laboring because of injury. The Eagles return to practice on Saturday morning, so we’ll have a better sense of his status then.

The Eagles practiced without three wide receivers: DeVonta Smith (hamstring), Makai Lemon (hamstring) and Britain Covey (hamstring).
Edge rusher Keyshawn James-Newby (ankle) and safety Cole Wisniewski (hamstring) remain sidelined. The two seventh-round picks are missing critical practice time for rookies.

Linebacker Chance Campbell (groin), guard Micah Morris (shoulder) and Johnson were limited. Landon Dickerson, who had a rest day when the Eagles practiced on Wednesday, was back on the practice field.

4. This was another strong practice from Cooper, who is putting together a standout training camp (again). He’s not only positioning himself for a spot on the 53-man roster for the second consecutive year; he’s pushing his way into potential playing time at wide receiver. Hurts name-checked him without prompting during an NFL Network interview this week, and that should not be dismissed. Hurts is often intentional with what and who he discusses.

Cooper had a strong rep against Quinyon Mitchell, an All-Pro cornerback. He makes contested catches, and he adjusts to the ball. It’s important not to overreact in either direction to a single practice, but when it happens over a series of practices, it’s hard to ignore.

If I were making a 53-man roster today, I’d put Cooper over Johnny Wilson as the “dirty work” receiver. Perhaps there’s room for both. Even more, the idea of Cooper filling that role might need to shift if he keeps playing. He’s graduating from the plucky, small-school undrafted rookie storyline and is now in the conversation of how he can help the team. I remember when I covered the New York Giants in 2010 and 2011, Victor Cruz started to reconfigure the way he was viewed in Year 2 from that longshot who worked his way up the depth chart to a piece on offense. It still might be premature with Cooper, and Cruz is a lofty benchmark to hit, but you’re judged by the plays that you make. Cooper keeps making plays.

Wilson was more active in practice on Friday, and Wilson is the player I considered Cooper competing for that aforementioned role. The Eagles don’t have the top-of-the-depth-chart talent at wide receiver they had with A.J. Brown and Smith, but their depth is better than in past seasons.

5. The Eagles’ top two defensive tackles continue to make plays in team drills. Jordan Davis has been one of the best players on the field this summer and had another would-be sack. Jalen Carter has been a disruptive force since signing his contract and seems to have a deflected pass every day. One of Hurts’ incompletions on Friday was knocked at the line of scrimmage by Carter.

“It’s all about matching the hand and the quarterback,” Davis said of the tipped passes. “When the quarterback drops back and takes the top hand off, it’s usually him preparing to throw. You might get a pump fake, but the thing we teach with the pump fake is to never leave your feet.”

6. One down-the-depth chart player who impressed? Willie Lampkin. You might see the 5-foot-11, 290-pound Lampkin and wonder how he shares position meetings with Jordan Mailata, but he plays with good leverage and is athletic and sound. In one-on-one drills, he stood up Zion Wilson on consecutive reps. Lampkin played second-team right guard and third-team center. The Eagles are trying to figure out their interior line depth — Drew Kendall, who has had a strong camp, is a lock as the top backup — and Lampkin’s size makes him a challenging evaluation. But if you’re watching him play, you can’t dismiss his contributions. (For what it’s worth, Jake Majors replaced Jurgens with the first-team offense when Jurgens exited.)

7. A few quick hitters…

– Tanner McKee was first up at No. 2 quarterback and had one of his better days of the summer, with a few impressive completions. He found Wilson for a touchdown in the corner of the end zone.

– Eli Stowers showed up in my notes more than usual. No highlights, but he was more active in team drills. Perhaps the ball just found him more than usual, although given his status as a second-round pick, any progress is notable.

– Rookie Micah Morris had strong reps in one-on-ones against 2025 fourth-round pick Ty Robinson, who couldn’t push past Morris.

– It’s hard to evaluate runs in these practices, but Barkley was able to get past the line for a good gain.

– Arnold Ebiketie applied pressure on the play when Jalen Carter knocked down the pass. A few watching practice around me thought it might have been an Ebiketie sack.

8. Finally, the sidelines were fun to watch at practice Friday because there were notable names watching practice. Jaylen Brown caught the attention of friends as he’s making his Philadelphia rounds — his news conference was Thursday, and he threw the first pitch at the Phillies game later that night — and multiple Eagles made sure to say hello to the new Sixers star. Hurts and Brown caught up after practice.

Welcome to the 215 pic.twitter.com/4j2PkHHeoo

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 7, 2026

Jason Kelce was in attendance for the second time this summer, and he even helped with offensive line drills. He stood in place as the quarterback in one-on-one drills.

Theo Epstein, the former World Series-winning GM with the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, chatted with Howie Roseman before practice and watched from the sideline. Former Eagles wide receiver Torrey Smith was in attendance. So was former Eagles executive Jake Rosenberg, who left the organization before the 2024 season.