The Philadelphia Eagles took to the NovaCare Complex for another day of Training Camp action. Here’s everything you need to know from Sunday’s practice.
Eagles injury report
The Eagles suffered more than a few blows in their preseason tie with the Cleveland Browns, but the good news is that the players who suffered minor injuries are trending in the right direction.
Nolan Smith’s shoulder injury held him out of practice today, while Moro Ojomo’s injury was revealed as a concussion. He also missed practice.
Haason Reddick and Trey Sermon were also sidelined today, with the former having recently undergone minor surgery on his thumb. This was to avoid any potential issues going into week 1, so there shouldn’t be any cause for concern.
Quez Watkins, Britain Covey, and Greg Ward were all absent today, which meant there was plenty of work for the other wideouts. Watkins has battled a hamstring injury over the last month. Hopefully, it’s not one that will limit him with the season rapidly approaching.
Fletcher Cox and Mehki Garner were both limited, but there’s nothing to worry about there.
Sydney Brown is what now?!
Sydney Brown has been one of the real summer standouts for the Eagles. The rookie safety is turning heads on a near-daily basis and he especially caught the eyes of Josh Tolentino on Sunday, who stated Sydney Brown’s play recognition is ‘bussin’.
The rookie reportedly flew down into the box on an attempted read-option, sacking Jalen Hurts before he had a chance to make his decision. This in turn sent the defense into a frenzy.
It’s hard not to see Brown becoming a key component of Sean Desai’s defense this season, and anytime a player’s skillset is described as ‘Bussin’, that should automatically act as an indicator of just how good he could become.
Zach Cunningham emerging as Eagles’ starting linebacker
The Eagles’ linebacking corps was dealt with a surprise on Sunday. Myles Jack informed the team that he intended to retire just weeks after signing with the team.
Perhaps he saw the writing on the wall, or maybe his heart/body just wasn’t in it anymore. Whatever the case, it’s cleared the path for Zach Cunningham to emerge.
He started with the first team on Sunday while Nakobe Dean was once again a presence, batting away a Jalen Hurts pass.
The two are likely going to be your starting linebackers in week 1.
Slim Reaper sets the tone
It’s been a fairly ‘quiet’ camp for DeVonta Smith, but that’s hardly a concern. Fresh off breaking the teams’ rookie receiving record, the Slim-Reaper somehow improved on those numbers in 2022 despite sharing targets with the dominant A.J Brown.
Smitty sent a reminder of just how good he is to the NFL on Sunday. The Bama product caught multiple touchdown passes, one of which saw Nick Sirianni sprint down to the endzone to gas up his young wideout.
DeVonta Smith might have the highest upside of any receiver in the NFL not named Justin Jefferson. I don’t think that’s a farfetched statement and it’s fun to be reminded just how explosive he is with just over 2 weeks until the regular season starts.
Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire
