PHILADELPHIA — Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni sat down for their opening news conference about 20 minutes before the Philadelphia Eagles’ first practice. They were quickly peppered with a question about Jalen Carter’s new contract.
“No welcome back? No, ‘Hey guys, how’s it going, how was your summer?’,” Roseman said. “We got football back in Philadelphia! It’s a beautiful thing.”
Yes, football is back in Philadelphia. The start of a six-month journey (and if they’re lucky, into a seventh month…) began at the team facility on Wednesday morning. The emphasis in Sirianni’s opening team meeting was about “being together and being aligned,” per quarterback Jalen Hurts.
“100 percent alignment, zero percent entitlement,” said Hurts, revealing his notes.
Here are 10 things we learned and observed on Day 1:
1. Jonathan Greenard opened training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Greenard, the team’s marquee offseason acquisition, suffered a strained pectoral lifting weights before camp. The team does not expect it to be a long-term absence.
“One of the things that we know about Greenard is he’s going to be ready to play,” Roseman said. “Training camp’s so important, practice is so important, but when you have a guy like that who prepares the way he does, who has the experience in the NFL the way he does, you know he’s going to be ready to play when we start the season. We want to be smart with all our guys and get them ready, but at the same time, acknowledge the process that they have to take to make sure that they are 100 percent when they come back. This is not a long-term injury. This is nothing we’re concerned about.”
By opening training camp on the PUP list, the Eagles preserve the option for Greenard to open the season on the PUP list if the injury lingers longer than anticipated. Greenard was a spectator at practice.
2. The big news this week remains Carter’s record-setting $152 million contract extension that made him the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history. When asked if it was important to him to be the highest-paid defensive tackle, Carter said it was important to stay with the Eagles. He accomplished both.
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Roseman said the Eagles entered the offseason hoping to sign Carter to a contract extension. Their hope would have been to sign him in March or April, but the defensive tackle market was in flux. Roseman mentioned Dexter Lawrence’s new deal in Cincinnati and Jeffrey Simmons’ new deal in Tennessee. Roseman said there was no hesitation about off-field concerns.
“I don’t know what off-field concerns,” Roseman said. “Since Jalen’s been here, he’s put his head down, he’s worked hard, and he’s made huge impact plays for this organization, for this team. Last year, he wasn’t 100 percent. He tried to fight through that and play through that. We understand that. Like anyone, when you’re 25 years old, you’re still growing as a person and as a player.”
3. The major emphasis from both Roseman and Carter’s teammates was that this contract was offered for expected future performance — not for the level that Carter has reached to date.
“You guys don’t understand how scary he can actually be,” Saquon Barkley said. “There’s another level he can take it to. I look forward to watching that.”
Jordan Davis, a close friend of Carter’s since Georgia, attended Carter’s news conference as a sign of support. He noted how Carter has learned “how to be a professional” with the Eagles.
“I’m working every day to make myself better in every way — technique or team chemistry, everything,” Carter said.
Carter said the money won’t change him, noting he already signed a lucrative contract when he was a top-10 pick. But the record-setting deal still meant his teammates had fun with him.
Jalen Hurts’ wife packed a $5 bill in his backpack. (Hurts said it’s an inside joke.) Hurts smacked the $5 on Jalen Carter’s chest.
“Let me put 5 on top of that!” he said.
Carter carried the $5 around the facility. He joked that he asked to get it signed by teammates and raise its value to $500.
“He’s a great competitor, great player, disrupting practice out there today,” Hurts said.
On that note, let’s get to practice…
4. The first practice continued to reveal how much different the offense will look this season. Hurts was under center for the majority of team drills — and under-center play-action was heavily featured during Wednesday’s session.
“I think it’s an extension of what I’ve done already in that department,” Hurts said. “It’s been an area of my game that I’ve always had. We just haven’t done it a lot.”
The skill players were in motion. Hurts targeted the middle of the field on multiple attempts, including deep passes to DeVonta Smith and Darius Cooper. (More below.) He also was able to convert some of the “lay-ups” on quick passes to the flat.
There was some sloppiness from the offense with pre-snap penalties, although that’s not overly alarming when it’s still July. Smith still lamented them after practice. The big picture question entering camp was how the offense would look. Time will tell if it’s effective. After the first practice, it’s fair to say it’s different.
5. Greenard’s injury might have been the headline, but it should not obscure the fact that the Eagles are much healthier entering training camp than last season. Greenard was the only player on the 90-man roster absent at practice. Key players who missed the spring, including linebacker Jihaad Campbell and first-round pick Makai Lemon, were full participants in the first session. Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens, who both dealt with injuries last summer, practiced without issue.
“Obviously, you saw the PUP list, and then everybody else will be going,” Sirianni said before practice. “I can’t say enough [about] what happened at our conditioning test yesterday. You just saw the complete focus of everybody, and you can’t cheat the conditioning test. You can’t cram for it in one week. The whole team was just so locked in, focused, it seemed easy for them. I know that test is hard. We’ve done that test plenty in these last five years. They came back in great shape, (Dickerson and Jurgens) included, crushed it and excited to get out there and work.”
6. Depth chart updates…
– The Eagles opened practice in base defense with Cooper DeJean at safety. When they went to nickel, Marcus Epps took the first reps at safety next to Drew Mukuba. Michael Carter II also mixed in at safety with the first-team defense.
– The offense started in 12 personnel with Johnny Mundt as the No. 2 tight end. Dontayvion Wicks was the second wide receiver with DeVonta Smith in that package. Lemon and Hollywood Brown also worked with the first-team offense at wide receiver.
– Jihaad Campbell started at linebacker next to Zack Baun.
– With Greenard sidelined, the two edge rushers with the top unit were Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith. There were no clues about who has the edge among that pair.
– Tanner McKee and Andy Dalton split reps at second-team quarterback. McKee took the first snaps with the second team, but they both worked with that group.
– Veteran guard Michael Jordan and veteran defensive end A.J. Epenesa both played with their second-team units after signing with the Eagles following mini-camp. This was their first session with the Eagles.
– Fred Johnson played left tackle and Markel Bell played right tackle with the second-team offensive line. Jordan and Drew Kendall were the guards, with Jake Majors at center.
7. The most memorable play of the practice was a deep ball from Hurts to Smith down the seam with All-Pro Quinyon Mitchell in coverage. Hurts pinpointed the ball; Smith created enough space to make the catch.
“Just trying to get the timing down,” Smith said. “Good play call, good look. Executed.”
The most impressive play? That might have been a leaping grab from Darius Cooper on a pass from Hurts with Cooper DeJean in coverage.
It was noteworthy that both these completions were in the middle of the field.
8. Two buzzworthy players who stood out in practice: Hunt and running back Tank Bigsby. Hunt forced pressure against the Eagles’ first-team offensive line. Bigsby showed some juice catching the ball out of the backfield and could carve a role on offense.
9. Roseman said communication with Brandon Graham “has been consistent,” although Roseman did not suggest there was a potential deal. Graham came out of retirement in midseason last year. He’s expressed interest in playing a 17th season with the Eagles, although he indicated in an interview with NFL Network that he would like to participate in training camp this time around if he returns.
“BG was the first draft pick I ever made as GM. Those conversations, obviously between us and every player, we’re going to keep between us and the player,” Roseman said. “I want to be consistent with whoever that is that we do that. But obviously you’re talking about one of the greatest Eagles players and an unbelievable person. Last year, his ability to come back in and help us was huge for our football team. But again, those conversations we’ll keep private.”
10. No surprise, but players are just like you. There was considerable excitement about LeBron James coming to Philadelphia.
“What about LeBron being in town?” Jordan Davis asked before his news conference.
Both Hurts and Barkley commented on how meaningful it is for the Philadelphia sports culture that James chose the 76ers.
“It’s huge for the city of Philadelphia,” Hurts said. “It’ll be exciting to have a figure like that in the city, what he’s done, one of the greatest to ever do it. I’m excited to be a part of that.”
Roseman remarked that James can come to any practice he wants. The next practice is Thursday morning.
