PHILADELPHIA -- For the first time since early August, the Eagles’ offense looked close to complete on Monday, and it came with DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon back in team drills as full participants after both spent much of the month working through hamstring issues.
It was a brief practice, just 70 minutes in shells, but Smith wasted no time making his presence felt. He lined up with the first team in an 11-personnel grouping alongside Dontayvion Wicks and Lemon, giving the offense a look it had been missing for weeks.
Smith immediately showed why he matters so much to this group. He caught a crossing route for roughly 15 yards in 7-on-7 work, then later came down with one of the day’s better grabs on a low throw near the right sideline, getting both feet down to finish the play.
Lemon also got early attention from Jalen Hurts, though the first try didn’t connect. Hurts fired a tight-window throw with Cooper DeJean in coverage, and the pass fell incomplete. Later in practice, Hurts found Lemon on a play-action misdirection for a small gain.
The biggest play of the day belonged to Hollywood Brown, who got deep for about 30 yards on a shot downfield. Even that one came with an asterisk, though, because the play might have been stopped and ruled a Jordan Davis “sack.”
The passing game never quite found a steady rhythm. Hurts had another chance to hit Brown on a post with Drew Mukuba in coverage, but the throw sailed high as the rush closed in. That pressure was a theme all session long.
Before practice, the Eagles made a pair of roster moves, waiving/injured running back Ja'Quinden Jackson and releasing special teams ace J.T. Gray. Jackson was tied to the frightening injury on the opening kickoff against the Patriots on Saturday night and will revert to IR once he clears waivers.
The injury list also grew after that preseason loss in New England. Rookie Markel Bell was added with thumb/leg issues, Eli Stowers with a hamstring injury, and Cole Wisniewski with a concussion. Wisniewski had just come back from a hamstring problem.
Other new names from the Patriots game were interior offensive lineman Willie Lampkin with a stinger, cornerback Mac McWilliams with a shoulder injury, cornerback Ambry Thomas with a groin issue, and wide receiver Quez Watkins with a foot injury.
Among those not practicing were cornerback Jakorian Bennett, who has a knee injury, tight end Grant Calcaterra with a back issue, and cornerback Jonathan Jones with a shoulder injury.
Several players were limited: wide receiver Danny Gray with a groin injury, offensive lineman John Ojukwu with a pec injury, running back Dameon Pierce with a hamstring issue, and defensive tackle Byron Young with a shoulder injury.
Lemon said after practice that the hamstring injury he dealt with in the spring was the same one that had been bothering him in August.
At quarterback, Tanner McKee opened the day as the Eagles’ QB2 after his strong showing against New England on Saturday night. Andy Dalton worked in later, but the Eagles again kept the backup reps relatively limited.
Dalton did make the most of his chances, stacking back-to-back out routes to both sides of the field, first to Elijah Moore and then to Darius Cooper.
Philadelphia also mixed Moore and Cooper in with the first team at times at receiver, a sensible hedge while the team waits to see whether Lemon can handle the workload by Sept. 13.
The second-team offensive line had to be reshuffled because of the injuries, and the group from left to right was Fred Johnson, Drew Kendall, Zeke Correll, Micah Morris, and Myles Hinton. Correll had at least two shaky shotgun snaps.
The defense kept the heat on throughout practice, with Jalyx Hunt and Moro Ojomo especially active in the pass rush.
One of the more interesting wrinkles showed Dallas Goedert lining up almost like a fullback in front of Saquon Barkley. Goedert also showed up as a receiver in an RPO look, a package that figures to stay rare in this offense.
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