Getty Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has taken an extra cautious approach with playing his starters this preseason.
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni had a pen stashed in his visor and a smile on his face as he opened his third training camp. Coming off a Super Bowl loss, the expectations remain high for the team to get back and finish the job. Outside the locker room, that is.
Inside the Eagles’ midnight green fortress of solitude, the goal is simply to get better every day. Sirianni has instructed his players to turn their focus away from a return trip to the Super Bowl. Depositing daily deposits. Keeping the main thing the main thing. And prepping to beat New England in Week 1.
“Let me make this first point perfectly clear. The goal right now, right this second, right now, is not to get back to the Super Bowl,” Sirianni told reporters on July 26. “That’s not our goal right now. I know everyone is going to be like, well, that’s a crazy thing to say. Our goal is to get better today. You can’t win two games unless you win one, so our goal is to get better today and to prep to get ready for our first game against New England. That’s it.”
#EaglesCamp is BACK‼️
Position Battle: Running Back
There has been a lot of talk this offseason about which running back will emerge as the starter. D’Andre Swift was presumed to have the inside track at the job, with Rashaad Penny challenging him for snaps. Well, the entire stable of backs rotated turns with the first-team offense on Day 1. Sirianni told reporters he planned to handle it that way prior to practice and the head coach stayed true to his word.
“Everybody has an opportunity to earn roles, and looking forward to watching that position group battle because there’s a lot of good options there,” Sirianni said. “They’ll rotate throughout. You’re going to see Boston [Scott] in with the ones; you’re going to see Kenny [Gainwell] with the ones; you’re going to see [Rashaad] Penny in with the ones; you’re going to see D’Andre [Swift]; you’re going to see Trey Sermon in with the ones; you’re going to see him in with the twos and you’re going to see him in with the threes. I wouldn’t look too much into who’s with the ones, who’s with the twos, who’s with the threes, because they’ll all be mixing in to make sure they’re getting the reps.”
Eagles observations from Day 1 of camp:
D’Andre Swift was deployed in a variety of ways, from lining up outside to motioning into the slot out of the backfield. He was primarily a pass catcher today.
Swift, Penny, Gainwell, Scott and Sermon all split time at RB.
Position Battle: Right Guard
The race to replace Isaac Seumalo at right guard began with Cam Jurgens taking the baton. The second-year player out of Nebraska got the nod over rookie Tyler Steen and made the most of his opportunity with the first-team offense. He held his blocks, ran the correct angles, and jumped off the ball.
According to Jason Kelce, Jurgens had a good day at right guard which was telling for a guy who had never played the position before doing it at OTAs.
“I thought he did some really good things today, made a couple of really good blocks, you’re just trying to iron out everything together and be on the same page,” Kelce said. “He has a tremendous skill set and I think for his first day he looked great.”
Cam Jurgens at right guard.
Right tackle Lane Johnson walked away impressed, too, while noting that Jurgens — listed at 6-foot-3, 303 pounds — had bulked up a bit.
“He looked good. He came into camp strong, weight’s up a little bit, he was crisp today,” Johnson said. “Obviously, it’s the first day but he came off the ball well, ran great angles, and played well today.”
Position Battle: Linebacker
Nicholas Morrow opened camp as the starting weakside linebacker, opposite Nakobe Dean, before giving way to Christian Elliss. The undrafted player out of Idaho promptly intercepted backup quarterback Marcus Mariota for a highlight-reel play. If it hadn’t been clear at OTAs, then it is crystal clear after the first practice: Elliss has a legit chance to steal the starting job from Morrow.
Christian Elliss picks right up where he left off in OTAs and intercepts Marcus Mariota. #Eagles
General manager Howie Roseman addressed the linebacker spot prior to practice, noting that it was very much an open competition. He hyped up the young players at the position — indirectly referencing Shaun Bradley, Davion Taylor, Kyron Johnson, and Patrick Johnson — and the savvy front-office executive didn’t rule out adding another player, via trade or free agency, down the line.
“We’ve got a lot of young players at that position,” Roseman said. “We’re excited to see those guys, evaluate them on a daily basis, and again, like anything, we’ll keep our options open. We’re never going to close the door on an opportunity to improve our team, so we’ll constantly be looking at that position and every position.”