FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Makai Lemon is officially back.
On Thursday, the Eagles wide receiver — who had been nursing a hamstring injury for over two weeks — returned to practice for the first time since Day 4 of Eagles training camp on Aug. 3.
It was an eventful week for the rookie to return as the Eagles took on the Patriots in the second of two joint practices at the New Balance Athletics Center adjacent to Gillette Stadium.
The 22-year-old Lemon was still limited on Thursday and he did not participate in team drills, but his return to full-pad action is encouraging.
This comes one day after the Eagles listed Lemon as limited on a day when Lemon was not in full uniform and was mostly held out. Last week, Lemon was on the field prior to practices at Jefferson Health Training Complex, catching passes from the JUGS machine and partaking in light warmups.
DeVonta Smith, Dontayvion Wicks, Hollywood Brown, Elijah Moore and Darius Cooper have topped the wide receiver depth chart with Lemon sidelined.
Lemon’s return is crucial for an Eagles passing offense that struggled against New England on Wednesday and was held to seven points in their preseason loss to the Ravens last Saturday. The Eagles selected Lemon with the No. 20 overall pick in April’s draft with the expectation that he would bolster the offense. Quarterback Jalen Hurts praised the former USC star last week.
“I think he’s been very intentional with [learning]. I think he’s all ears,” Hurts said. “I think he’s a very intentional, quiet, mild-mannered hard worker. He’s hungry.
“[USC] Coach [Lincoln] Riley has always said a great number of things about Makai and how he prepares and how intense he is in the walkthroughs. I’ve seen the same thing here.”
FOXBOROUGH, Mass.—Jalen Hurts refused to take the bait.
The Eagles quarterback was asked three questions about Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown, who was traded to New England in June, after the two teams practiced against each other on Wednesday. Hurts put on a master class in question deflection.
First, he was asked what it was like to share a practice field with Brown in different uniforms.
“I think it was a great day out here,” Hurts said. “I mean, I know he’s going out there and competing. Got a lot of love for him. I always have. Seems like it was a competitive practice.”
Next, a Patriots reporter asked what advice Hurts would give Patriots quarterback Drake Maye on how he can “get the most out of” Brown. With Hurts as his quarterback, Brown posted the two highest single-season receiving yard totals in Eagles history — 1,496 yards in 2022 and 1,456 in 2023. The pair won a Super Bowl together in 2024.
“I think Drake has had a lot of success already,” Hurts said. “So, I don’t know what my advice would be. I just think he needs to continue the progression that he’s on. I mean, he’s already accomplished so many great things in this short time and I expect more great things to come for him.”
Lastly, Hurts was asked if he had a chance to catch up with Brown, who spent four seasons in Philadelphia, like many of his teammates did on the sidelines Wednesday. He didn’t dance around it.
“No, I didn’t get to yet,” said Hurts.
It’s clear Hurts and Brown are holding back when speaking about one another. Brown was traded to New England in exchange for a 2028 first-round draft pick and a 2027 fifth-round draft pick on June 1. The deal came after months of Brown’s frustrations, reportedly due to his lack of targets, finally boiled over.
As Hurts spoke on the lower turf at the Patriots practice facility, Brown met with a large gaggle of Eagles and Patriots reporters on the main field less than 100 feet away.
New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown meets with the media after a joint practice with the Eagles at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Brown said he hasn’t spoken with Hurts since the trade in early June, although both were in attendance at wide receiver DeVonta Smith’s wedding in the days following the deal. When pressed on the Hurts interactions, Brown scoffed at the line of questioning from Philadelphia reporters.
“Philly, man, y’all are tough,” Brown said with a laugh. “Man, it’s love. Listen, honestly guys, none of that stuff even matters. You all should want to report something positive. You know asking the question is going to turn negative. Let’s not get into that. Let’s keep everything positive.
We’ll see how the trade ages. As for Wednesday, it was Brown who got the best of his former team, catching all six targets during seven-on-seven drills Wednesday — including a deep shot down the sideline with Eagles newcomer Riq Woolen in coverage — and looking sharp against one of the top cornerback rooms in the NFL.
“Yeah, [Brown] looked a little better [than previous seasons],” said cornerback Quinyon Mitchell.
The Sean Mannion era got off to a rocky start on Saturday.
Sure, the Eagles may have held out every projected starter on offense in their preseason opener, but their output was still concerning. They converted just two first downs over their first eight drives and were outgained 440-159 yards in the 24-7 loss to the Ravens.
Of the three quarterbacks who played — Andy Dalton, Tanner McKee, and Cole Payton — it was the rookie Payton who led the Eagles in passing yards with 37.
Heading into what could be a telling set of joint practices and a game against the New England Patriots, Mannion decided to change his approach. The first-year offensive coordinator announced Monday that he will call plays from the coaches’ box at Foxboro, not the sideline where he worked vs. the Ravens.
“Yeah, I’m planning on calling the next game from the booth,” Mannion said before Monday’s practice. “I think it’s an opportunity to get a feel for both. And then go from there. But it was, you know, that’s been the plan all along. I think it’ll be an interesting perspective, but, you know, I think for this preseason, an opportunity to kind of experience.”
This doesn’t mean Mannion is making sweeping changes to his offensive philosophy. Nor should he. The former Packers quarterbacks coach was hired to implement a wide-zone scheme with concepts that look similar to those of Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan, thus modernizing the Eagles offense.
The offense has mostly looked sharp through three weeks of training camp, too, so the trueresults won’t be revealed until they open the season vs. the Commanders on Sept. 13.
But it’s clear Mannion — who “works his butt off,” according to coach Nick Sirianni — is striving for better output, no matter who’s playing. He took responsibility for the sloppy performance — namely the Eagles’ 0-for-9 third-down conversion rate — ahead of Monday’s practice.
“Obviously, we want to have a better performance offensively than we put on tape the other night, [and] we’ve got things that obviously we need to correct,” Mannion said.
“I thought the biggest thing that stood out in the game is we just weren’t staying on schedule. We had a lot of first-and-longs, second-and-longs. Penalties led to a lot of that. A couple negative runs. So I think if we were able to be better on schedule and kind of eliminate some of those miscues on early downs, we’ll keep ourselves in more manageable third-down situations and hopefully lead to a better result.”
Sean Mannion will move from the sideline to the coaching box on Saturday. David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Mannion was able to find one positive takeaway from Saturday’s mess. The 34-year-old ex-quarterback said communication among the coaching staff was strong, with clock management and substitutions both running smoothly.
“We didn’t have any play-calls get jacked up where we got caught with them substituting late or anything like that,” he said. “I thought the lines of communication were clear. I was happy with how the quarterbacks were able to get us in and out of the huddle. We weren’t really up against the play clock at all, so I was happy with that.”
Now comes the hard part: mixing those positives with better execution of the playbook. He’ll have another crack at it Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.
“I think it’s just carrying the fundamental work that we’ve done in practice to the game setting. I think that was the biggest takeaway,” Mannion said. “We want to see these guys go out, play, execute their assignment and play with good fundamentals.”
BALTIMORE — Before Saturday, Eagles edge rusher Joshua Weru hadn’t played a down of organized football. By the end of his first series, the ex-rugby player from Kenya had already notched two quarterback pressures.
Talk about learning on the job.
It was a special night for Weru and Uar Bernard, the Eagles’ two International Player Pathway program rookies, who both suited up for game action for the first time when the Eagles fell to the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday, 24-7.
It was all smiles from both players after the game, but both recognize how much they have to learn.
“I started off on cloud nine, then I got brought back down,” Weru said. “But that’s learning. … It was cool. I felt a lot of ups and downs, but I’m just happy to have gone through it. I’m sure once I watch [film], I will learn a lot of things.”
Neither player lit up the stat sheet — the only stat they registered was Weru’s tackle and QB hit — but they certainly showed glimpses, which is what the Eagles were hoping for when they drafted Bernard in the seventh round (251st overall) and signed Weru as an undrafted free agent in April.
Their play drew praise from coach Nick Sirianni, who focused more on their journey to this point rather than dishing on their tape.
“How exciting for those two guys to be playing in an NFL football game,” Sirianni said. “It’s really cool how this game works out and the opportunities that they get. I just thought they played with really high effort and were into it the entire night. I think Josh had — I know there was a screen pass — but he looked pretty fast coming off the edge there on that one.
“I’ll have to study on Uar a little bit more. But to be able to come out here and play in an NFL game, it’s pretty cool and we’ll evaluate the tape and see where they were.”
Uar Bernard is raw but has maintained a positive attitude in his first experience on a football team. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
On his first snap of the game, Bernard bull-rushed Ravens guard Emery Jones Jr. back five yards, using his impressive strength and 6-foot-4, 306-pound build to his advantage. He didn’t showcase many pass rush moves, but the play offered evidence that Bernard has NFL strength.
Weru made a clutch play during the second half, logging a hit on Ravens quarterback Joe Fagnano on third-and-9 and limiting his scramble attempt to just one yard in the fourth quarter. While the optimistic 23-year-old likes to focus on the positives, he said he’ll focus on what he can improve when he studies the tape afterward.
“I’m sure I’ll watch some plays and beat myself up about them,” Weru said.
This performance comes after weeks of solid play from the novice players in training camp. Weru has shown flashes of developing into a legitimate rotational edge rusher with his explosiveness off the ball and has a chance to win a roster spot. Bernard needs to work on his finesse, but his strength and size constantly turn heads in practice.
But it’s clear the Eagles’ plan is to be patient with them. Two weeks ago, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio even instructed reporters to stop asking about them because they’re both “light years away.”
“It’s going to take a long while,” Fangio said at the time. “You guys can get off that topic.”
Believe it or not, Jalen Carter’s biggest offseason distraction was not his contract situation or rehabbing the injuries that plagued him in 2025.
It was the friendly wager he had with Vic Fangio.
“Me and Coach Vic had a little thing going where he wanted me to come in at a certain amount of weight, and I made that weight,” said Carter, who is listed at 6-foot-3, 314 pounds but noted that he’s down 10 pounds since last season. “That also shows that the contract extension wasn’t my biggest focus. My biggest focus was putting a smile on Coach Vic’s face. … And he was happy and we dapped up and we hugged it out.”
Ten days into Eagles training camp, observers can see how this body transformation is helping the two-time Pro Bowler return to form. Carter, 25, looks as dominant as ever entering his fourth season. He consistently blasts through the Eagles’ interior offensive line to create pressure on quarterback Jalen Hurts and he even outraced all defensive linemen in sprints on Tuesday.
This certainly wasn’t the case last season. In 2025, Carter generated a career-low 7.7% pressure rate while facing a double-team on a career-low 41.7% of his pass rushes, according to Next Gen Stats. This came after a wildly successful 2024 season, during which he played 79.4% of the defensive snaps and was a key contributor in Super Bowl LIX.
So, how did this change come to be? Carter attributes his weight-loss journey to fewer “big daddy meals” — which he said is when you “just fill the plate up” — and cutting out Minute Maid brand blue raspberry juice.
How, exactly, has a slimmer frame helped Carter in the early days of camp?
“I just feel better out there,” he said. “Getting out of the stacks feels much better, especially with what I was going through last year with the shoulders and all that. Everything just feels good right now.”
Getting Carter back to peak form is excellent news for an Eagles team that’s built around a tough defensive front. With Carter, Jordan Davis, and Moro Ojomo all looking sharp in camp, the Eagles should have one of the top defensive tackle rooms in the NFL in 2026.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio challenged Jalen Carter to improve his body this offseason and has been pleased with his defensive tackle’s progress. Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Carter’s transformation even drew public praise from Fangio, who rarely goes out of his way to dish out compliments.
“[Carter has] had a good offseason of lifting,” Fangio said. “I think he started that earlier than normal for him and you can see the difference in that regard. I think he’s in a better spot now than he was.”
The next challenge for Carter is making sure he can stay locked in mentally. The Patriots are hosting the Eagles in a joint practice ahead of their preseason game on Aug. 22, which could lead to tempers flaring between the two clubs. When asked how he can stay composed, Carter said he’ll try his best.
“If I was to get into any altercations, I don’t try to start them, I just finish them,” he said with a wry smirk. “I think I pretty much know the lines. … There’s really ain’t too much I can do. You know, it’s football.
“It’s definitely fighting, that’s the main thing: We don’t want to fight. We want to get contact, get aggressive and all this, but fighting is the last thing we want.”
Michael Vick stood on the Eagles practice field Monday, sporting a bright green polo with a Norfolk State Spartans logo on the chest, and soaked it all in.
He made the rounds, talking to general manager Howie Roseman and players including DeVonta Smith. He then watched practice with admiration as the first-team offense looked sharp running a new system under offensive coordinator Sean Mannion.
After practice, Vick — who is heading into his second season as head coach at Norfolk State — made sure to pick the brains of Mannion, Nick Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts.
His expert opinion? The Eagles offense is in great shape with this new scheme in place.
“I’m very confident in this offense,” Vick said Monday. “I understand the West Coast system because in 2004, when I was introduced to it, it just changed my whole football life because it’s so structured around footwork and timing. Feet dictate where you’re supposed to go. So I was able to take those principles and play in anybody else’s offense, basically. I could see any route, any concept and break it down and know where I’ve got to go.
“This offense just makes you a smarter player. I’m glad Philly adopted it.”
Former Eagles teammates DeSean Jackson (left) and Michael Vick will face off at the Linc for a second straight season. Steven M. Falk / For The Inquirer
The praise from Vick, who attended practice along with Delaware State coach and former Eagles teammate DeSean Jackson to announce a game between their teams at Lincoln Financial Field on Oct. 31, didn’t stop there.
Vick understands the pressure that comes with quarterbacking the Eagles. He joined the Eagles in 2009 after serving nearly two years in prison following a conviction on federal dog-fighting charges, and was named AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2010. He believes Hurts, now entering his seventh season with the Birds, deserves more credit across the league.
“Jalen is a Super Bowl champion,” Vick said. “That’s all you need to know. When you’re a Super Bowl champion, there’s no disrespect. He’s just got to continue.“
Does he think Hurts will thrive in this modern offense?
“Oh, for sure,” said Vick. “He’s clearly super comfortable with the offense and understanding it. But he understands that he’s got to get better.
“We all know good quarterback play is so hard to get. So when you get one, you’ve got to cherish them. You need to treat them with respect. The Eagles have that in Jalen.”
As for his return to Philadelphia, Vick said it’s “surreal” that he gets to face Jackson for a second straight season in the same stadium where they used to play. The teams faced off last October in the inaugural HBCU Battle of Legends, drawing a crowd of 47,266 fans to Lincoln Financial Field. Delaware State won the game, 27-20.
“We’re blessed to be in this position,” Jackson said. “I’m hoping we can do this [in Philadelphia] year-in and year-out.”
Lane Johnson is considering retiring following the 2026 season, the five-time All-Pro right tackle said Saturday.
“As you get older, things change in your life,” Johnson said at a news conference. “Priorities. Your children get older, parents get older. It puts things in perspective. So it’s looking like, potentially, this is probably going to be my last year. I am getting to that point where priorities away from football are starting to merge.”
Johnson, 36, is entering his 14th NFL season, all with the Eagles. He cited his parents’ health issues as one of the reasons for his announcement. He was a key member of the Eagles’ Super Bowl championship teams in the 2017 and 2024 seasons. He has earned six Pro Bowl selections and five All-Pro honors, including first-team citations in 2017 and 2022.
Johnson was excused from four days of practice earlier this week because of a personal matter. He returned to practice Friday morning, albeit in a limited role.
Johnson is part of an offensive line that is adjusting to a new scheme under first-year coordinator Sean Mannion and a new position coach in Chris Kuper, who succeeded longtime coach Jeff Stoutland.
“Not that I don’t enjoy it,” Johnson said. “I love this game and preparing for it, but that’s kind of where I’m at in my career. I’m looking forward to this year playing the best I can and stay healthy.”
Johnson said his decision is a motivating factor toward another All-Pro honor. He said he feels slighted when he reads NFL offensive lineman rankings and doesn’t see his name.
“I still feel like I can be a premier tackle in this league,” Johnson said. “I’m here, my team supported me, and I’m where I need to be.”
In Johnson’s absence this week, 2026 third-round pick Markel Bell took the bulk of the first-team right tackle reps. Johnson praised the 6-foot-9, 346-pound Bell on Saturday.
“He’s one of the best rookies I’ve been around,” Johnson said.
Johnson posted four straight All-Pro seasons from 2021 to 2024, but was limited to 10 games in 2025 because of a Lisfranc foot injury suffered in Week 11 vs. the Detroit Lions. He also missed the Eagles’ wild-card loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Fred Johnson replaced him during that stretch.
Eli Stowers sounded like a wily vet, not a rookie, when discussing his slow start to Eagles training camp.
When asked what the “biggest adjustment” has been since camp began last week, the rookie tight end didn’t dance around the question.
“Biggest adjustment, I’d say, is probably the mental challenge,” Stowers said following Wednesday’s practice. “I think that the offense and the way that the defenses do their schemes at this level, it’s a little more complex than it was in college. And so I think it’s a mental challenge, but that’s just about putting the time in and learning it and trying to get better with it.”
It’s early, but the first six days of camp haven’t been easy for the Eagles’ 2026 second-round pick (54th overall). For a player lauded for his athleticism and catch radius during the pre-draft process, Stowers hasn’t stood out in practices open to the media. This is a troubling sign for a player expected by some to be Dallas Goedert’s eventual replacement.
Eli Stowers (87) is trying to get acclimated to the NFL along with the rest of the Eagles’ rookies. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Nevertheless, the Eagles refuse to hit the panic button. Speaking about Stowers on Monday, Nick Sirianni focused on the 23-year-old’s pros, rather than his cons.
“I think Eli has a really good feel for the zone of where to sit in zones and how to get open versus different types of zone coverage,” Sirianni said. “We know that his athletic ability will [help him] shake free on third down when it is man coverage because he’s quick, he’s fast, he’s explosive. But what I’ve been impressed with him is just his ability to kind of read defenses and find the areas of the zone where he needs to sit and be at the right spot at the right time.”
Time will tell with Stowers. He certainly has a strong college resumé — logging 62 catches, 769 receiving yards and four touchdowns at Vanderbilt last season — though multiple scouts billed him as more of a developmental project than a Day 1 starter.
But even he acknowledges he needs to put on a better showing at camp.
“At the end of the day, this is a game where there’s going to be ups and downs and you’ve just got to learn how to bounce back from adversity,” Stowers said. “No one who has ever played this game has ever been perfect. And the ones who are great are the ones that can bounce back from the adversity and go make the next play.”
Asked Tuesday about the offseason drama he endured when the Browns signed him to a one-year deal worth up to $5 million before balking at the deal weeks later (reportedly due to a failed physical), the Eagles edge rusher first took a diplomatic approach, before taking a shot at Cleveland.
“It was a weird situation,” Epenesa said after Day 5 of Eagles training camp. “I don’t necessarily want to go back and talk on that in just a weird sense.
“I’ll just leave that in the past and just be happy that I’m not a Brown and that I’m an Eagle.”
The 27-year-old certainly looks like he’ll fit right in with the loaded edge rusher group. Epenesa, formerly of the Bills, recorded multiple would-be sacks the first week of camp and even nabbed an interception on a pass intended for wide receiver Danny Gray on Day 2.
He looks sharp. But the fact remains that the Browns backed out of signing him because of health concerns. So, is he healthy? Epenesa, who played in 16 games last season but suffered a concussion in November as well as battling pectoral, foot, and neck injuries, didn’t hesitate when the question was asked.
“Oh, very healthy,” Epenesa said. “Feeling good and happy to be here.”
A.J. Epenesa (57) is part of a deep and talented pass-rushing group. Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Epenesa hopes to be a key cog in an edge group that features Jonathan Greenard — who’s nursing a pectoral injury — Jalyx Hunt, Nolan Smith, and Arnold Ebiketie. The Eagles lost Jaelan Phillips to the Carolina Panthers in free agency, so improving the group’s depth was one of general manager Howie Roseman’s top priorities this offseason. The trade for Greenard and the signing of Epenesa on June 10 signified that.
Epenesa was mostly a rotational piece on Buffalo’s defensive line, starting just 19 games in six seasons, but he made the most of his role. His best season came in 2022, when he logged a career-best 6½ sacks, 10 quarterback hits, 14 quarterback pressures and 16 tackles.
So, what drew him to the Eagles — whose defense is powered by a loaded defensive front — over another team where he could win a starting job?
“I wanted to go to a place that could help make me better,” Epenesa said. “A place that’s going to win games and a place that has competition. I don’t want to go to a place and just be handed everything.
“I love having this around me. These guys are making me better. They’re incredible athletes. They’ve all been in the system for two, three-plus years. So all of that knowledge that they have is leaking into me. Whether they know it or not, I’m watching.”
A.J. Epenesa (57) was a situational pass rusher for most of his tenure in Buffalo. Bob Donnan, Bob Donnan-Imagn Ima
Epenesa’s coaches are taking notice of this spongelike attitude. Epenesa rarely dropped back in coverage in Buffalo, but he’s quickly added that skill to adapt to Vic Fangio’s scheme. Fangio seldom goes out of his way to praise players, but he did so for Epenesa last Thursday.
“I told A.J. this, and I said it in front of the whole team, too,” Fangio said. “For a guy that’s being asked to do a few things that he’s never done before, I thought he did a nice job. It was very encouraging.”
Epenesa winding up in Philadelphia is a positive outcome to a bizarre situation. Now, the veteran edge rusher said, he wants wins to come with it.
“[The Eagles] are always competitive every year,” Epenesa said. “That’s one of the key things, I think, when you’re trying to find a team. That’s something you’re looking for. And these guys, they messaged, they hit me up, they wanted me.
I want to be on a team that competes and wants to win. And it worked out.”
Marcus Epps knew what he was getting into when he returned to the Eagles this offseason.
His resumé is strong — Epps was a key starter during their 2022 Super Bowl run — but he never expected the starting safety job to be handed to him. The 30-year-old knew he’d have to grind it out against his main competition, Michael Carter II, plus seventh-round pick Cole Wisniewski, veteran special teamer J.T. Gray, and long shots like Andre Sam, Kapena Gushiken, and Maximus Pulley.
Through three days of camp, the battle has been as intense as advertised.
“It’s open competition,” Epps said. “They made that clear. That’s where my focus is. I’ve always had to earn everything my whole career anyway. So we’re all pushing each other. We’re all encouraging each other.”
That’s the right mindset to have given the competitive nature of the safety battle. Safety is currently the Eagles’ only position not set in stone. Cooper DeJean, who plays slot in nickel, holds the starting safety spot in the team’s base defense, but the Eagles, like most NFL defenses, use nickel and dime packages much more often than base. That leaves the spot next to Andrew Mukuba — the other starting safety — wide open.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is letting his safeties battle it out on the field.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who previously indicated that Epps was in the pole position, was mum on who the current leader was when asked on Thursday.
The first-team snaps at camp seem to confirm Fangio’s comments, as Carter and Epps have rotated in at safety with the first-team defense over the three days. How has this battle affected morale in the room?
“It’s been great,” said Epps. “We’re all encouraging each other. We’re all helping each other out. But at the same time, we’re all bringing it each day. And I feel like we’re all taking the same day-to-day mindset and just trying to get better and do whatever it takes to help the team.”
On paper, Epps’ resumé is much more impressive than Carter’s. Epps has 49 starts in 94 career games with 3 interceptions and 315 career tackles. Carter, meanwhile, has 26 starts in 73 games with 2 interceptions and 233 tackles.
The Eagles acquired Michael Carter II from the Jets last season ahead of the trade deadline.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
What’s it going to take for Epps to win the job once and for all?
“I’m just going to go out there and be me, man,” he said. “I’m just taking it one day at a time, trying to be consistent, trying to stack days. That’s where my focus is, doing anything it takes to help the team, man.”
Asked about the battle from an outside perspective, Mukuba took a diplomatic approach, opting to instead shout out his teammates.
“We’ve got a lot of good guys in the room that’s doing good,” Mukuba said. “Epps, Mike Carter. We’ve got the young guys doing good as well, I mean, it’s a good group of guys that’s coming in, working and competing every day.
