The pads were off on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t plenty of observations to be made down at the NovaCare Complex. The Eagles are in the heart of their Training Camp and the intensity continues to pick up. Here’s everything you need to know.
Injury mountain
As expressed in an article earlier today, the Eagles endured quite the injury barrage. In case you missed it, here’s a quick summary from the piece:
Andre Dillard went inside early after getting up slowly from a play, but didn’t return to the field. There has been no update on the type of injury sustained or the severity of it, but the fact he didn’t come back is obviously significant.
In his place, Jordan Mailata saw starting reps. It’s very interesting that Jason Peters didn’t move back to his natural habitat. He instead stayed at RG while Matt Pryor moved to RT to fill in for Lane Johnson, who also missed practice today.
Lane Johnson is day-to-day with a lower-body injury but was still present at practice.
Josh Perkins has been ruled out indefinitely with an upper-body injury. Perkins was having a fairly strong camp while battling with Noah Togiai for the TE3 spot.
Shareef Miller gingerly walked off the field after a play before returning to the sideline later on.
COVID could be a threat here too. The Eagles use the same lab which was referenced in an NFL statement that revealed all teams using the facility had received positive COVID tests. This isn’t conclusive that all ‘ill’ absentees are related, but should be worth noting.
Both Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert were among those back at practice today. The other names included Jalen Reagor, Rasul Douglas, and Deontay Burnett.
Meanwhile, both Derek Barnett and Javon Hargrave are progressing well and could return for the season opener against Washington. Every cloud has a silver lining.
Holyfield Hola’s
One of my favorite dark-horses on this Eagles roster is unquestionably Elijah Holyfield. He hadn’t had the most explosive of starts, but with the running back depth chart being shuffled around due to injuries, his exposure to higher groupings is paying dividends for his chances of making th eroster.
I count 3 touchdown receptions today for the running back who many believed to be ‘one-dimensional’. He recorded a great touchdown catch for the Panthers in preseason last year and with the Eagles backfield craving versatility, it’s clear Duce is putting him through his paces.
Underdog wideouts
Two Eagles wideouts who have really been making an impact this week have been two names you might not expect – Marcus Green & Deontay Burnett.
Green has only just returned to the Eagles roster and Burnett has long been battling with his back to the wall. Both are making very convincing practice squad arguments this Summer.
N-R-G from NRC
Many are already pegging Nickell Robey-Coleman as an offseason steal and it’s not hard to see why. If you’re not aboard the hype train just yet, the former Ram is showing out in Camp with a bid to convince the doubters.
It looks as though NRC will have the starting role to begin with.
Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire
