The Eagles’ first preseason game didn’t give anyone much to celebrate, but it did leave behind a pile of useful clues. With one exhibition in the books and 11 training camp practices already behind them, the next stretch matters more than anything else so far. The joint practices with the New England Patriots should say a lot about where this team really stands.
At quarterback, the picture behind the starter is still muddy. Andy Dalton brings the résumé and the experience to win the job, but he still hasn’t done enough to separate from Tanner McKee.
The bigger problem is that McKee hasn’t been able to grab the job either, even after the Eagles brought in competition for that spot this offseason. Both quarterbacks were underwhelming in the preseason opener and neither has really popped in camp.
One of them probably gets moved, but at this point it’s fair to wonder whether either should.
The only quarterback who actually moved the ball was Payton, and that came against the end of the roster in garbage time, so it doesn’t carry much weight. The fifth-round pick still has trouble processing what he’s seeing and ends up going way off script to create anything.
That’s not the kind of development the Eagles want to see from a rookie quarterback. As for whether he deserves to stick as QB3, the answer is no.
He looks more like a practice squad project than a roster lock, even with his athletic ability.
Wide receiver is another spot that deserves a hard look. Some people on social media want to argue the Eagles are better at the position after A.J.
Brown, but that doesn’t hold up. Dontayvion Wicks should be fine as a WR2, and he’s had a good camp, but he’s not DeVonta Smith.
That part is fine. The issue is what comes next.
If Wicks is the WR2 and Darius Cooper is the WR3, that’s a depth chart a lot of people would have been unhappy with a month ago. Makai Lemon still can’t get on the field and doesn’t look like an instant Week 1 contributor.
Hollywood Brown hasn’t been good this summer, and that puts his roster spot in jeopardy. The Eagles may have a real problem at receiver, and they definitely don’t look better there than they did last year.
One of the biggest bright spots Saturday was Bell, who has handled the move to right tackle with real ease. He showed off his power on multiple run blocks, including one on a Will Shipley first down run that got wiped out.
Bell also held up in pass protection, and it’s not hard to see a future where he becomes a dominant right tackle with more experience. Right now, he looks like the Eagles’ No. 3 tackle and a future starter.
At linebacker, Trotter Jr. kept building on what he’s done all camp. He was around the football constantly and made plays at middle linebacker like someone who belongs on an NFL field.
He’s not starting over Zack Baun or Jihaad Campbell, who looked good in limited action, but Trotter Jr. is the kind of player who could start somewhere else if he gets the chance. He’s already a quality linebacker and a strong special teams piece, and once he gets his shot, he might run with it.
Stowers, though, is a much tougher evaluation. Right now, he isn’t a good football player.
His blocking is getting better, but the gap is still huge. The Eagles can’t put him in an NFL game at this point because the blocking and play recognition are liabilities.
The catches he made Saturday don’t change much either, since the Ravens were in prevent defense and just wanted the Eagles to run out the clock before halftime. He’s not a lost cause, but the start has been rough.
There’s been some encouraging work along the interior offensive line. The Eagles effectively redshirted Drew Kendall and Willie Lampkin last season, and now both are on track to make the roster.
Kendall has looked good at guard and has improved in pass protection. Lampkin may be undersized, but he plays much bigger than he is, and his run blocking is worth watching.
Micah Morris has also flashed since returning from a shoulder injury, and the Eagles should protect him on the 53 and keep developing him because he has starting-caliber upside. The youth gamble at guard is looking better by the week, and backup interior line feels less worrying now than it did a month ago.
Weru has also turned heads, especially considering he had never played football before this summer. Vic Fangio’s warning still applies, though: there’s a long way to go.
Weru did look good in the preseason opener and is working his way into roster consideration. Jose Ramirez is in that mix too, and as the more established NFL veteran, he may be ahead of Weru right now.
The Eagles should be able to sneak Weru onto the practice squad and keep developing him.
On defense, the biggest takeaway might be who didn’t play. The established starters mostly sat, and the only starter who got a few snaps was Jihaad Campbell. That made the preseason opener a limited evaluation from the jump.
Safety was another spot where the rotation told a story. Epps didn’t play, even though there’s supposedly a competition there.
He does have the edge over Michael Carter, and maybe the Eagles are already leaning toward Epps as the Week 1 starter. Nick Sirianni said the team wanted to give Carter more reps, but that explanation doesn’t really sell it.
Epps has had a good summer, Carter has too, and the way the snaps were handled suggests Epps is in front. Actions usually speak louder than words.
There’s also the bigger preseason question hanging over all of this: do we really need three games anymore? The league cut from four to three in 2021, and it feels like three should become two soon.
Coaches care most about the joint practices now, and fans barely get to see those unless they show up in person - which Eagles fans can do in Foxborough this week. Saturday’s game wasn’t much of an offensive evaluation for Sean Mannion, since the Eagles ran about as plain a version of offense as you’ll ever see.
That’s the modern preseason in a nutshell. You can still judge individual players, but the main goal is simply to get through it healthy. The Eagles mostly did that, and in August, that counts for something.
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Howie Roseman Just Sent A Clear Message About The Eagles Secondary
The Eagles made a quick roster tweak after their preseason opener, bringing in cornerback Isaiah Bolden while moving on from offensive lineman Hollin Pierce. Bolden, a 2024 seventh-round pick by the New England Patriots, arrives as a depth add on the back end, while Pierce, an undrafted free agent from last year, was cut after a quiet summer that never seemed to gain much traction.
It also reads like a small but telling nod to where Philadelphia thinks it needs help most. The secondary had its issues in the preseason loss to the Ravens, and with camp still offering limited time for evaluation, the Eagles are giving themselves another body to sort through in the defensive backfield as the roster picture keeps taking shape. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Face Tough Call On Two Rookie Defenders Fans Love
The Eagles rookie defender conversation has already become one of the more interesting camp subplots, with The Athletics Brooks Kubena and Zach Berman offering their latest 53-man roster projections on a pair of first-year players fans have been eager to track. Uar Bernard and Joshua Weru have both drawn attention during preseason, and the appeal is easy to see: Bernard has stood out for his athletic upside and what he has shown in games, while Weru has kept himself in the mix as the team sorts through the back end of the roster.
What makes this decision worth watching is how little separation there seems to be in the public view, even as the projections point in different directions. The Eagles still have to weigh upside against roster math, and that is where the tension lives for two rookies who have already given fans reason to pay attention. For now, the picture remains fluid, and the final call figures to say as much about the teams long-term planning as it does about either players immediate future. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Bubble Players Just Made These Roster Decisions Much Harder
The preseason opener against Baltimore gave the Eagles a fresh look at the bottom of the roster, and a few players took real advantage of the stage. Defensive tackle Robinson flashed with pressures and a sack, Weru showed enough as a pass rusher to get noticed, Shipley helped the offense, and offensive linemen Ojukwu and Lampkin both held up in their roles while trying to separate themselves in a crowded competition.
Ringo also added a key interception, even with a penalty attached to the play, which is the kind of mixed rsum that can still make life difficult for the front office. When a game like this produces multiple players who can point to useful reps, it turns August into a sorting exercise, and the Eagles now have some tougher calls ahead as they try to piece together both the 53-man roster and the practice squad. [Read more 🡒]