Eagles training camp Day 16: Injuries, trick plays, standout rookies

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The Eagles held their second and final open practice at the Linc on Sunday. It was Military Appreciation Day, so a bunch of service members lined the field.
 
In all 17,389 showed up for the practice under the lights. It lasted until about 10:30 p.m.The Eagles were in pads again, but Sunday’s practice wasn’t as intense as Saturday’s. Still, plenty of things to observe:

•  Same starting offensive line as Saturday, so it looks like this is what the Eagles are going with, assuming Lane Johnson is suspended for 10 games: Jason Peters, Isaac Seumalo, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks, Allen Barbre.

 
•  Carson Wentz (ribs), Mychal Kendricks (hamstring), Mike Martin (knee), Jordan Matthews (knee), Jalen Mills (hamstring), and Hunter Sharp (hamstring) all missed practice. Matthews is expected to be out for a while longer, while Wentz hopes to return in the preseason (see story).
 
Last week, Doug Pederson said he expected Kendricks back on Saturday, but now he’s missed both practices this weekend. What is Kendricks missing?
 
“Practice time,” defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. “News flash.”
 
Schwartz then said Kendricks has been working hard in the building and is “conscientious” enough to get all the mental reps.
 
• The Eagles continue to practice trick plays. On Sunday, they did a little double reverse where Rueben Randle eventually gets the ball and hits a streaking Chase Daniel down the right sideline. Not sure this is gonna work in a game.
 
• Undrafted cornerback C.J. Smith from North Dakota State broke up another pass on Sunday, this one intended for Chris Givens in the end zone during wideout-corner drills. Smith has had a pretty decent camp and stood out in the game on Thursday, grabbing that late interception. The numbers are tough at corner, but he’s definitely a candidate to make another roster or land on the Eagles’ practice squad.
 
• We’ve been saying for a while now that Steven Means has looked pretty good. He’s being rewarded now. He and Marcus Smith both split second-team reps at defensive end. In fact, Means got on the field before Smith on Sunday. If this battle is judged on merit alone, Means should win it.
 
• Another cornerback who might have practice squad potential is former CFL player Aaron Grymes. His professional experience has shown and on Sunday, he even got some first-team reps in the slot. He certainly deserved the head nod from coaches.
 
• In the kicker battle, it seems like it’s now Caleb Sturgis’ job to lose. He went 5 for 5 in the main field goal drill and Cody Parkey hit just 3 of 5. This has been the story all training camp. Not sure how the coaches could justify keeping Parkey over Sturgis if this continues.
 
• Had a chance to watch O-line vs. D-line drills on Sunday night – my favorite thing to watch at camp. Connor Barwin had the most impressive snap of the drill, pulling off an impressive spin move to get around Matt Tobin. He also showed a great speed move around Tobin. Destiny Vaeao would have had the most impressive snap, when he overpowered Barrett Jones, but the rookie slipped at the end. Lane Johnson vs. Brandon Graham was pretty fair, but then Vinny Curry bull-rushed past Johnson.
 
• Joe Walker, who had a really impressive preseason debut on Thursday, made a great leaping interception in 7-on-7s. He seems to make plays pretty consistently.
 
• Military Appreciation is always pretty cool. The players shook hands with the soldiers lining the field before the game, then gave them the jerseys off their backs after.
 
The way the jersey give away works, is the players line up on one side and the military folks line up on the other, so they can kind of see which player they might get. For the guy on the end, Fletcher Cox pointed across the field to him before they even started walking. Lucky guy.
 

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