PHILADELPHIA — Eagles coach Nick Sirianni knows who’s playing where. He’s just not telling you.
“I think it’s unsettled to the outside world,” Sirianni, referencing some late position battles, including at free safety and the second cornerback spot, said on Sunday. “We got it pretty much settled in here, just like injury information. … I’m just not sharing that information quite yet.”
The competition at second outside corner, opposite Quinyon Mitchell, has come down to Jakorian Bennett, Adoree’ Jackson and Kelee Ringo. Sirianni, a former wide receivers coach, was asked specifically about Jackson.
“I think he’s always in the hip pocket of guys and close to the catch point,” Sirianni said. “I also think he has a good knack for the football. He was a punt returner and has a good knack for how to take the ball away, how to catch the ball, those different things like that.
“I think he’s competitive, and that’s what you want. I think we saw in the preseason with him playing that he’ll tackle and he’ll stick his face in there. He’s got toughness. So what you want as a receiver is to look at how close he is to me when I’m making the catch. I think that he has the ability to shadow receivers, and we’ll need those efforts this week against a really good receiving and tight end core.”
Hmm, is that a hint that Jackson will get the starting nod then?
Bennett, whom the Eagles acquired from Las Vegas midway through camp, could continue challenging for the job. And the team still sees redeeming value in the 23-year-old Ringo, who won a national championship with Georgia.
At free safety, opposite Reed Blankenship on the strong side, it comes down to Sydney Brown or rookie Drew Mukuba. Mukuba missed camp early while recovering from a shoulder injury and was recently out with a hamstring strain, but he returned to practice Sunday. Before the hamstring issue, he was trending toward becoming the starter.
Safety Marcus Epps, who was with the team from 2019 through 2022, has been getting up to speed since the Eagles signed him to the practice squad last week.
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Quarterback Jalen Hurts discussed the buy-in of new players, from rookies to those acquired through free agency and trades.
“Speaking of this year’s iteration, you don’t know what you have until you get out there with some live fire, if you will,” Hurts said. “We try and establish a good (culture) and set the right example, try and work really hard to set that example.
“Ultimately, it takes the togetherness and the evolution of just learning from everything we go through as a team. That’s the exciting part about embarking on a new journey. It’s that it’s a new group, and it will be a new iteration of what this team is.”
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What did Sirianni think of the Cowboys trading edge rusher Micah Parsons, a three-time All-Pro, last week?
“We have so much going on here,” he said. “We’re getting ready to play the Cowboys (Thursday), so he’s in your thoughts for game planning, but they still have guys that we have to prepare for. They have (DT) Kenny Clark, who’s a really good player, and they have good depth at that defensive end group. You don’t get too wrapped up in that except for some of the things you’re doing with the game plan, but also understanding that they have a lot of good players over there and getting ready for those guys and shifting your attention to that.”
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NOTES >> LG Landon Dickerson (knee surgery) participated in multiple drills. Ringo (quad), LB Josh Uche (groin) and WRs A.J. Brown (hamstring) and DeVonta Smith (groin) also practiced. … Backup QB Tanner McKee (thumb) remains out, meaning the recently acquired Sam Howell is likely to be elevated to second string against Dallas. … After placing OL Willie Lampkin on injured reserve, the Eagles signed G/C Kenyon Green from the practice squad to the active roster. … Sirianni is 4-0 in season openers.
Source: Berkshire mont
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