Tag: Jalen Hurts

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Eagles held the 14th open practice of their 2026 training camp — the second of two joint practices with the Patriots — on Thursday at the New Balance Athletics Center. Here were my observations from Day 14 (and links to Days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13):

Lemon drop

Makai Lemon made his official return to practice after missing more than two weeks with a hamstring injury. The Eagles listed him as limited the day before, but he wasn’t in pads and did almost nothing. The rookie wide receiver was fully suited up on Thursday, however, and participated in individual drills. It’s unlikely he plays Saturday against the Patriots in the second preseason game, but there’s a chance he can get some live repetitions in the preseason finale vs. the Bengals on Aug. 28.

Receiver DeVonta Smith (hamstring) was limited for a third straight day. Receiver Elijah Moore was added to the injury list after suffering a neck injury on Wednesday. The following players continued to be sidelined: Defensive tackle Byron Young (shoulder), cornerback Jonathan Jones (shoulder), tight end Grant Calcaterra (back), cornerback Jakorian Bennett (knee), receiver Johnny Wilson (knee), running back Dameon Pierce (hamstring), tackle John Ojukwu (pectoral), and cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields (heel).

Defensive tackle Jalen Carter was excused for a personal reason. Outside linebacker Keyshawn James-Newby (ankle) and cornerback Shaun Wade (eye/shoulder) were also limited.

Riq-ola

Riq Woolen had a tough first joint practice with the Pats, but he rebounded on Day 2. If there’s a position where you need to have a short memory, it’s cornerback. And Woolen showed it with his performance 24 hours later. He allowed some catches, but he prevented as many.

He was involved in maybe the two biggest plays of the day. With the Patriots near the goal line, Woolen lined up over A.J. Brown, who got the better of the corner several times the day before. Brown ran a quick out pattern and Woolen was in his hip pocket. Quarterback Drake Maye only had eyes for his No. 1 receiver. Woolen read them, jumped the route and raced the other way with the ball. He flopped into the end zone for a would-be 100-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Later in the final red zone period when both teams converged on one field, Maye again forced a throw to Brown. Woolen had tight man coverage on the short route and ripped the ball out into the air. Outside linebacker Jalyx Hunt dove and somehow caught the ball before it hit the ground. Hunt just has a sense for the ball. He’s had a great summer.

Woolen also notched a few pass breakups vs. Romeo Doubs, who gave him fits on Wednesday too. He lost the Patriots receiver in the final red zone period and didn’t have over-the-top help from safety Andrew Mukuba. Woolen slapped his hands in frustration, but he bounced back on the two-point conversion and made sure a juggling Brown didn’t secure the ball inbounds.

Brown points

Brown might not have been as spectacular as he was in the first workout, but he had his moments. He once again faced cornerback Quinyon Mitchell in the first one-on-one. Brown made an acrobatic catch in which he tipped the ball to himself and dragged his feet in the back corner of the end zone. The nearby referee ruled him out, but I thought he was inbounds.

In two-on-two drills, Brown got Mitchell to slip after his break and scored. He flashed his strong hands on a contested ball over the middle a few reps later. Brown also caught a touchdown in 11-on-11 drills near the stands and celebrated with Patriots fans. Mitchell had a few strong reps as well. He locked up Brown on a deep route in which Maye’s aimless pass fell to the ground.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts and Co. had their successes in the one-on-one and two-on-two portions. Tight end Dallas Goedert used subtle movements to create enough separation for a catch in the end zone. Quarterback Andy Dalton fired a pass to Eli Stowers that sailed past the rookie tight end before he looked back. Dalton looked nonplussed.

There was a similar miscommunication between Hurts and Hollywood Brown in which the receiver didn’t turn his head in time. Hurts had a visual reaction and spoke to Brown afterward. They’ve had mix-ups in their first camp together, but have worked on improving their chemistry after practice. It eventually paid off (foreshadowing).

Running up that hill

I spent most of practice watching the Eagles offense. Sean Mannion’s unit started slow and finished strong, unlike the day before when it got off to a hot start before petering out. With most of team drills worked inside the red zone, the condensed area made it more difficult for the pass offense.

The run offense didn’t have that excuse and it struggled after an impressive showing the day prior. Saquon Barkley had few holes, especially on outside zone runs. He was strung out on his first carry. Patriots edge Gabe Jacas broke through for a tackle for loss on Barkley’s next tote. Patriots defensive tackle Milton Williams was able to get inside tackle Lane Johnson and stop Barkley after a minimal gain.

New England’s defense pushed the envelop at times and would tackle to the ground. Johnson took exception at one point and there was a scrum. The Eagles’ frustration boiled over several more times. Barkley appeared to get into it with Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore even though neither was participating in the drills. Receiver Dontayvion Wicks was in the middle of a fracas that halted practice.

Tackle Jordan Mailata said afterward that the fights disrupted the flow of the run game. But it was tough sledding for both of the Eagles’ units. Running backs Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley — who shined on Wednesday — kept getting bottled up.

Tough enough

The lack of production on the ground made it even harder on the passing attack. On Hurts’ first drop, Williams beat his block and was in the quarterback’s face for a would-be sack. Hurts kept playing, but his pass was deflected to Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones for an interception and he ran the other way. A play later, the blitz was picked up, but Hurts rushed his throw to receiver Darius Cooper and it fell incomplete. The Eagles ended the set with a touchdown when Hurts found Goedert over the middle in the back of the end zone.

The first offense went back to being out of sorts, though, in the next stanza. Hurts picked up some yards on a draw play. But Wicks dropped a pass. And when Hurts had nothing, he held the ball and was pressured into taking a would-be loss. Later on, Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss wasn’t fooled by another Hurts draw. Safety Kevin Byard blitzed the “A” gap and was unblocked. Hurts again kept the play alive, but edge Elijah Ponder dropped and broke up the throw to Bigsby.

Pick-le ball

Hurts rebounded with another touchdown in the post — this time to Wicks, who celebrated with Bigsby. But for every positive there were two or three negatives. Hurts was tackled for a loss by Patriots linebacker K.J. Britt on a busted designed run. Two plays later, Jones had his second pick of Hurts when he stepped in front of Wicks near the sideline.

The quarterback went back to Wicks over the middle on a quick timing play that had misdirection motion at the snap at the start of the next set. But center Cam Jurgens got beat when Patriots defensive tackle Cory Durden penetrated into the backfield and sacked Hurts.

Then the Eagles committed a false start. Hurts scrambled out of bounds for little or no gain. And when Bigsby finally broke outside for a long run, a holding penalty negated the first down. Mannion did manage to scheme tight end Johnny Mundt open for yards after the catch on a crosser. But the period ended without points.

Red-letter end

The Eagles first offense would save face in the final red zone “scrimmage.” Hurts was workmanlike. He hit Goedert on a quickie for six yards. He then went to Wicks, who turned his defender around the 5-yard line. On first and goal, Hurts was flushed to the right and he found Hollywood Brown in the back of the end zone. But the receiver couldn’t get both feet inbounds.

Hurts had good protection on the next down, though, and hurled a strike to a diving Brown for the touchdown. Cooper hauled in the ensuing two-pointer after Hurts bought time outside the pocket, but another holding penalty took the conversion off the board.

In the trenches

Even without Carter and Young, the Eagles’ interior defensive line won the run battle. Every time I glanced over to the other field, defensive tackles Jordan Davis and Moro Ojomo disrupted the Patriots’ ground assault. Vic Fangio can get away with the highest percentage of light boxes in the NFL because he has the horses up front.

I didn’t catch all of the one-on-ones between the Eagles’ pass rushers and the Patriots offensive line, but of the matchups I watched, they fared well. Hunt split his two reps vs. tackle Will Campbell, but edge Nolan Smith Jr. had victories over tackle Marcus Bryant. Defensive tackle Ty Robinson used his trusty old club/swim move to win his first turn, but guard Alijah Vera-Tucker took the rematch.

Linebacker Zack Baun took a rare pass rush and dusted tackle Caleb Lomu. Edge Arnold Ebiketie had a win and draw vs. tackle Dametrious Crownover. The education of rookie defensive tackle Uar Bernard continued. Guard JonDarius Morgan handled him with relative ease.

Second fiddle

Tanner McKee got the nod ahead of Dalton in the first set with the second offense. The quarterback connected with receiver Samori Toure on an out pattern and checked down to Stowers. Speaking of Stowers, he had a solid lead block on a Bigsby run to the perimeter. Another Eagles holding penalty brought back a later Bigsby run.

McKee tried for Quez Watkins on a corner fade into the end zone, but his pass was too high for the receiver to pull in. Speaking of penalties, the Eagles had an offensive pass interference on a screen. McKee was forced to scramble when a bubble screen to receiver Britain Covey was thwarted. He did hook up with tight end E.J. Jenkins in between the hashes.

Dalton was under center for the final red-zone period. He hit Watkins for a first down on his first drop. But the quarterback and receiver were out of sync on their next target. Dalton then threw out of bounds when Stowers was covered. And on fourth-and-goal, his pass to Toure was a touch late and broken up.

Extra points

Rookie quarterback Cole Payton got the day off — at least in team drills. … Shipley and Cooper were the first two returners during kickoff drills. … The Eagles will have a closed walkthrough ahead of Saturday’s preseason game with the Patriots. Few, if any of the starters are expected to play. Sunday will be an off day. Camp resumes back in Philly on Monday.

The Eagles held the 11th practice of their 2026 training camp on Thursday at the Jefferson Health Training Complex. Here were my observations from Day 11 (and links to Days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10):

Fight club

My notes will start at the end of practice and what caused a scheduled 90-minute workout to finish prematurely: The Eagles’ first bona fide fight of camp. Defensive tackle Moro Ojomo and tackle Fred Johnson had themselves a good ol’ donnybrook in which fists were thrown, alleged cheap shots were taken and multiple players and coaches did their best to separate the two combatants.

As with most camp altercations, there was apparently a series of events that led to the ultimate throwdown between the linemen. Ojomo doesn’t typically line up over Johnson, but there are occasions when they will meet, particularly on run plays. In second-unit team drills, Ojomo beat Johnson inside and notched a would-be tackle for loss. He might have had another TFL a set later if Johnson didn’t tackle him to the ground.

It all came to a head later on when Johnson gave Ojomo an extra push to the ground. Ojomo popped up, stormed at Johnson and led with a left. Johnson responded and they scuffled until it was broken up. Normally, throwing hands would get you kicked out of the next play or even practice. Ojomo and Johnson not only remained on the field, but faced off again. And, of course, it got physical again. Johnson pancaked Ojomo to the turf, Ojomo came up swinging — this time with a right hook — and then all I could see were bodies flying around trying to stop the melee.

Punching a helmet makes little sense and Ojomo apparently realized as much. My view was obstructed, but I was later told that after breaking free from his teammates, he lunged at Johnson’s lower body. That prolonged the fracas until the two were finally pried apart. Ojomo kept yelling at Johnson, who said to no one in particular, “He tried to take out my knees! I got kids!”

Coach Nick Sirianni huddled the team together and wrapped up practice 10 minutes early. After two weeks of facing off against each other, the Eagles’ offense and defense will finally face a team in another uniform when they meet the Ravens on Saturday. And again when they head to New England for two joint practices with the Patriots next Wednesday and Thursday. It’s about that time.

Corner boys

Quinyon Mitchell (glute) and Cooper DeJean (groin) were the latest to miss practice. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the two All-Pro cornerbacks landed on the injury report at the same time. The Eagles have likely seen enough out of Mitchell and DeJean, and as they did with receiver DeVonta Smith, decided to shut down two key players who don’t need camp as much others do.

With Mitchell out, Jakorian Bennett and Kelee Ringo split reps at right cornerback. Michael Carter II filled in for DeJean in the slot and Marcus Epps took most, if not all, of the snaps at safety. Cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields might have gotten some looks with the first-unit defense, too, but he was also out with a heel injury.

The following remained sidelined: receiver Makai Lemon (hamstring), cornerback Jonathan Jones (shoulder), outside linebacker Keyshawn James-Newby (ankle), running back Dameon Pierce (hamstring), safety Cole Wisniewski (hamstring), and Smith (hamstring). Receiver Danny Gray (concussion) was limited.

Receiver Johnny Wilson (knee) was back in action.

Hollywood shuffle

Cornerback Mac McWilliams got some starter’s reps whenever Riq Woolen took a breather. He made the most of his turn during seven-on-sevens when he intercepted Jalen Hurts’ toss to receiver Hollywood Brown in the end zone. McWilliams caught sight of the pass late, but he used one hand to secure the ball against his shoulder and pulled it in for the pick.

Hurts’ pass didn’t look errant. The timing between a quarterback and a receiver on out routes can be of the utmost importance. Hurts worked with Brown on the route after practice. Lemon was involved, as well. Brown hasn’t really stood out in camp. There could be a host of reasons why. Does Hurts not yet trust him? Is he not a scheme fit? Has he lost a step? Or is it simply too early to make assessments?

Brown later dropped a screen pass.

Interpreting interceptions

Brown was also the intended receiver on Mitchell’s interception from Tuesday. I chose to spotlight the corner’s improved ball skills rather than Hurts’ turnover because it appeared as if Brown wasn’t precise on his dig route. As with most plays in football, there were multiple factors. The Eagles posted the play on their social media accounts and it created a minor stir.

I understood some of the commotion. The team wouldn’t normally promote anything that would seemingly disparage their franchise quarterback. I think in this case, they simply wanted to give props to Mitchell. The interception had already been reported. It’s not like Hurts — or any player — is perfect. And, in fact, I appreciate that the Eagles didn’t feel like they had to mollycoddle the 28-year old. That hasn’t always been the case.

Nevertheless, Hurts could end up throwing more interceptions with more projected middle field throws in the new offense. I asked Sirianni if he needed to alter his conservatism when it comes to turnovers because the reward of more over-the-middle passes is worth the risk. His answer in a nutshell was no, but I think there is an alternate reality.

Smith locked in

Nolan Smith was all over the field during the first team period. The outside linebacker raced into the backfield to touch up running back Saquon Barkley after getting by tight end Dallas Goedert’s block. Smith was even more impressive on the next rep when he beat left tackle Jordan Mailata with a push-pull move and strung a run play out. A few plays later, he snuffed out a swing pass to Barkley.

Smith’s instincts and versatility are strengths. He’s effective in setting the edge against the run and wily when he drops into coverage. His effort is unquestioned. A lot of his pressures and sacks come from dirty work. The one knock, as I see it, is fairly significant: He doesn’t win enough in the pass rush. At least not yet. And there are concerns about durability. He’s still wearing a large brace on his left arm. But the Eagles picked up his fifth-year option for good reason.

Fixed Wicks

Dontayvion Wicks opened camp as one of Hurts’ go-to guys. He wasn’t targeted as much over the last week, for whatever reason, but Thursday’s practice further validated the notion that Wicks should get the second-most number of snaps at receiver once the season starts.

Hurts and Wicks have developed obvious rapport on certain concepts, mostly on the out route. Wicks knows how to win at the line. He caught a 10-yarder in front of McWilliams early on, and then beat Woolen for a touchdown. Woolen has been one of the best man-press covers in the NFL. But Wicks used a quick shuffle at the line to keep the corner from jamming him. Hurts hit him in stride before the pylon and pumped his fist in celebration.

Bell power

Markel Bell took the snaps at right tackle when Lane Johnson got rest. The 6-foot-9 rookie has so far answered some of the questions about his agility in the Shanahan scheme. We know he has the size traits, especially when it comes to arm length in pass protection. But would he be able to get out of a three-point stance in run blocking? Would he be able to climb to the second level and get his hands on linebackers?

I saw it before in camp, but he had two impressive instances on Thursday when he sealed off linebacker Zack Baun on inside zone runs by Barkley and Tank Bigsby. Guard Tyler Steen — his partner on the right side — had a solid day as well. He once contained defensive tackle Jalen Carter at the point of attack. He later had a false start and may have held Carter on another down, but Steen has solidified his standing this summer.

First down

Hurts loves his tight ends during sevens-on-sevens. Goedert and Johnny Mundt were his targets on the first three drops. Hurts then tried two corner fades in the red zone — the first to Wicks and the second to Wilson — but Michael Carter and Woolen each recorded pass breakups.

Ringo took a poor angle on a Barkley run to the perimeter. A year ago, Ringo essentially took himself out of the starting cornerback competition when he missed an open field tackle in the first preseason game. Hurts later found Goedert in the back of the end zone for a touchdown in team drills. Safety Andrew Mukuba was in coverage, but Hurts had all kinds of time in the pocket.

Second down

Sirianni declined to say who would start at quarterback on Saturday. It’s doubtful that Hurts and Co. play. The guess here is that Andy Dalton will get the nod, but Tanner McKee will play as much. McKee was first up with the second offense on Thursday. His best moment came on a 12-yard hitch to receiver Britain Covey.

Dalton struggled in his first set. His throw to running back Will Shipley led him just out of bounds. Shipley did his best to drag his feet, and a nearby referee ruled him inbounds, but the replay suggested otherwise. Gray was wide-open in the back of the end zone a play later, but Dalton overthrew him.

Extra points

Barkley got dinged at one point and required trainer attention. He should fine, from what I understand. … It was bound to happen. Willie Lampkin missed a block. Defensive tackle Byron Young was credited with a sack when he slipped outside the guard. Lampkin’s error wasn’t physical. He just hesitated a second on his assignment. … Covey, Elijah Moore, Quez Watkins and Brandon Hayes handled punt return duties. Lemon watched from nearby. … UFC’s Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett watched practice. … The Eagles have a closed walkthrough on Friday. They’re off on Sunday and will return to practice on Monday.