Lots of unexpected extra work for players who need it
PHILADELPHIA — Jordan Mailata isn’t the only Philadelphia Eagle who is playing a lot more than he was projected to at this time.
Injuries to key regulars and a generally conservative approach to the preseason by coach Doug Pederson has thrust tight ends Josh Perkins, Will Tye and Alex Ellis into positions they never thought they’d be in this far into August. Ditto for linebacker Alex Singleton and offensive lineman Matt Pryor.
Singleton even had some first-team reps in their nickel package on Sunday, following a solid performance in their preseason opener against Tennessee.
This is what happens when projected starters Nigel Bradham and Kamu Grugier-Hill are temporarily out of the picture.
And with tight ends Dallas Goedert and Richard Rodgers out indefinitely, Perkins is getting some work with the ones as well.
“It’s the next-man-up mentality,” Perkins said. “We try to go in there and do our job to the best of our ability. I felt like I did OK [against Tennessee]. There’s always room for improvement.”
Perkins doesn’t know how much he’ll play this coming Thursday night at Jacksonville, “but it’s like they always say, you have to stay ready so you don’t have to get ready,” he said.
Here are some takeaways from Day 14 of camp, a spirited, padded session that featured plenty of contact and lasted more than two hours:
Carson Wentz was a little wild on this day. He overthrew Nelson Agholor early, underthrew Greg Ward late, was picked off by Malcolm Jenkins and Avonte Maddox and nearly picked off by Rasul Douglas. He also missed 6-foot-6 Carlton Agudosi with a high throw on an intermediate pass. That’s almost impossible to do.
Jenkins was trumped on his interception by fast-thinking and fast-moving center Jason Kelce, who hit him
with a pretty good shot and knocked the ball loose.
A thought on Agholor: There’s still trade rumors. But the Eagles would probably be foolish to get rid of him this year, because even though they already have his replacement in rookie J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, there’s no way he’s as good or dependable as Agholor has turned out to be. For a team that’s in win-now mode, taking a chance that they’ll be just as good with ArcegaWhiteside as they’d be with Agholor is not worth it.
Defensive end Derek Barnett was cleared for 11-on-11 team sessions for the first time, although second-year player Josh Sweat took most of the first-team reps on the right side because Vinny Curry was out with an illness.
Sweat beat left tackle Jason Peters with an inside move for a sack early in practice, but Peters recovered to win all the other encounters.
For a guy who didn’t do a whole lot of run blocking in college, rookie Andre Dillard sure looked smooth and powerful with his hand on the ground on Sunday. Seems like the backup left tackle is getting better every day.
Doubt this trend will continue into the regular season, but it seems like whenever one of the Eagles’ defensive end plays from a two-point stance, he drops into coverage as a joker. At some point, there has to be a better disguise.
Running back Donnel Pumphrey muffed a punt return late in practice. Normally that wouldn’t be a big deal. But when you’re on the roster bubble, every little mistake can be huge and get players trending in the wrong direction.
Maddox provided the most acrobatic play of the day on his interception, which came when he snagged a tipped ball just before it hit the ground. The ball popped up as a result of a collision between Arcega-Whiteside and safety Rodney McLeod, who just recently had been cleared for full contact following last season’s knee injury. McLeod walked off gingerly after that play but told The Athletic’s Zach Berman after practice that he was fine.
Looking ahead:
A short 10-10-10 practice will be held Monday, followed by a regular practice on Tuesday. The team will depart on Wednesday for Thursday night’s preseason game in Jacksonville.
One Shelton in, another Shelton out:
The Eagles made a minor transaction Sunday evening, waiving WR Shelton Gibson and signing CB Sojourn Shelton. Gibson, a 2017 fifth-round pick out of West Virginia, suffered an ankle injury in practice. In 20 career games, he has three catches for 59 yards. Shelton, an undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin, has spent time with the Arizona Cardinals and Cincinnati Bengals.