The Eagles’ training camp has stayed mostly calm, and in Philadelphia that can be a good sign. After years of A.J. Brown drama, this summer has been more about players trying to seize opportunities than creating noise.
That doesn’t mean everyone has helped themselves. A handful of veterans and younger players, rookies included, have stumbled early and landed on the wrong side of the roster conversation.
Some are fighting to stay on the 53-man roster. Others already look like long shots based on the roster projection.
A.J. Brown has been fine through eight practices, but the bigger story is that his spot has not felt as secure as expected.
Darius Cooper has emerged as the third-best receiver in camp, and Elijah Moore has also picked up his play. That has put pressure on Brown, even with $5 million guaranteed.
He still looks like the kind of established veteran the Eagles could use at wide receiver, but he hasn’t been the deep-ball threat they were hoping to see.
Will Shipley is in a different kind of fight. He had a strong spring, but the summer has been rough.
A drop in practice last week stood out, and it fit the broader pattern through eight sessions: he has not been consistently catching the ball. The Eagles traded for Tank Bigsby last year because Shipley wasn’t enough in the RB2 role, and now Shipley may be battling Dameon Pierce for RB3 after Pierce has come on in recent practices.
The open kick returner job gives Shipley another path, but the early edge he had in the backfield race has faded.
The same kind of slide has hit Byron Robinson. A fourth-round pick last season, he has struggled since arriving in the building.
He opened camp with the developmental players, though he has gotten some second-team work lately. The defensive tackle room is loaded, and Robinson still hasn’t separated himself.
Gabe Hall has looked better, but the Eagles may want to give the early Day 3 pick more time. The Uar Bernard situation only makes things messier.
Are they really going to use two roster spots on two players at the same position? Robinson needs a strong stretch to lock down his place.
There’s also uncertainty around Kyle McCord. He has been aggressive with the ball, and that makes for entertaining practices.
He isn’t afraid to let it rip. It has also led to five interceptions in camp.
The decision-making has been hard to ignore, and right now he doesn’t look worthy of a roster spot over Andy Dalton or Tanner McKee. If he cleans it up and keeps developing, he can still make the team.
That’s the path. It’s just a big one.
Up front, Fred Johnson lost ground fast. When Lane Johnson was out dealing with a family matter, it took only a practice and a half for Fred Johnson to be replaced at right tackle by Markel Bell.
Fred Johnson didn’t handle that stretch well, and Bell kept the first-team right tackle job for the rest of the week. Bell is now the No. 3 tackle behind Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata, while Fred Johnson has been pushed down.
Could Fred Johnson miss the roster entirely? It’s possible, though the Eagles don’t have a young tackle who has really developed behind him.
His reliability still works in his favor, and he should make the team even if he has lost the No. 3 tackle role.
Then there’s Myles Morris, one of the rookies who looked poised to make noise this summer. Instead, an injury has interrupted his camp.
He has missed two practices, and in four of the eight sessions he has either been absent or limited. Willie Lampkin has moved ahead of him at right guard, earning second-team reps and strengthening his case for a roster spot.
Drew Kendall is effectively the No. 3 guard as well. Morris needs to get back on the field and show what he can do.
The Eagles have moved on from sixth-round picks before, but this may be one they want to keep around.
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Ty Robinson Is Forcing His Way Into The Eagles D-Line Picture
Ty Robinson has spent the summer making a quiet case that he belongs in the Eagles defensive line conversation. The second-year lineman was mostly a depth piece last season, appearing in 11 games with limited snaps, but his work during OTAs and training camp has started to turn heads as he pushes for a bigger role in a room that already features established starters Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis.
The more interesting part is where Robinson fits if the Eagles front continues to shift around him. With Carter and Davis both locked in on new deals, the immediate picture looks stable, but the long-term outlook behind them is less certain and could create a real opening for a player who has already shown enough in camp to get noticed. Robinson is not just hanging around anymore - he is putting pressure on the team to decide how much of the future it wants to hand him. [Read more 🡒]
Willie Lampkin Is Making The Eagles Roster Battle Very Real
Willie Lampkin has turned his first Eagles camp into a real roster conversation. The 5-foot-11 interior lineman arrived after being waived by the Rams, and he has stood out in practice by playing with the kind of leverage and competitiveness that can make size matter a little less than usual on the interior. Coaches and teammates have taken notice, and his work has earned him more snaps as he keeps pushing into the picture.
For a Philadelphia offensive line room that rarely hands out jobs lightly, Lampkins rise has made the competition feel a little more crowded. He is battling for one of the limited interior spots, and every strong practice seems to give him a better case as the Eagles sort through a roster spot that is still very much up for grabs. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Camp Has Put These Surprise Roster Battles In Focus
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What makes this group worth watching is how many of them have carved out some level of intrigue through steady work rather than hype. Some have shown enough improvement to stay in the conversation, while others are trying to turn a strong camp into a legitimate case for roster consideration. The separation is still being made, and in Philadelphia that usually means there is one more turn to come before the final decisions are set. [Read more 🡒]