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Wednesday marked the 18th and FINAL Philadelphia Eagles training camp practice ahead of the 2025 NFL season. The non-padded session lasted for about 80 minutes. Here’s what I observed at the NovaCare Complex.
On the whole, it’s been an up and down camp for Hurts. But the reigning Super Bowl MVP finished on a high note by turning in his strongest practice of the summer. And this despite entirely missing A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jordan Mailata, and Landon Dickerson.
This version of Hurts looked like the one we saw back in spring practices and early in training camp. The ball rarely hit the ground; he threw just one incompletion. I marked him down for five touchdown passes:
1) Hurts found an open AJ Dillon in the flat on the left side of the field for a catch-and-run score.2) Hurts hit Darius Cooper on a short pattern to the left in the end zone for a touchdown.3) Hurts hit Ainias Smith on a short pattern to the right in the end zone for a touchdown.4) Hurts lofted a ball to a crossing Grant Calcaterra for an over-the-shoulder grab in the end zone for a touchdown.5) Hurts floated a ball over defenders up the middle to Jahan Dotson for a short touchdown.
Hurts’ most impressive throw was the ball he fit between Jihaad Campbell and Quinyon Mitchell to give Darius Cooper a chance to make a leaping grab in traffic for a first down. After that rep, a smiling Hurts dapped Cooper up and jogged to the sideline with him.
The vibes at Eagles training camp have mostly been good but they took a hit recently due to disappointing performances against the Cleveland Browns, injury issues, and unresolved position battles. A performance like this by Hurts doesn’t magically fix everything but it’s an encouraging development.
After practice, Hurts called young fans over to him on the field so he could sign autographs for them. Not sure I recall an Eagles player ever doing that since I started covering training camp in 2013.
WR A.J. Brown (hamstring)CB Tariq Castro-Fields (hamstring)S Lewis Cine (groin)OG Landon Dickerson (knee)OT Jordan Mailata (concussion)QB Tanner McKee (finger)S Andrew Mukuba (hamstring)CB Kelee Ringo (quad)WR DeVonta Smith (groin)EDGE Joshua Uche (groin)WR Johnny Wilson (knee/ankle)
Dickerson has missed six straight practices.
Brown has missed five straight practices.
Cine has missed four straight practices and one preseason game.
TCF has missed three straight practices.
DeVonta, Mailata, and McKee have missed two straight practices.
Mukuba unsurprisingly sat out today after suffering a hamstring injury on Tuesday. He watched practice from the sidelines.
Wilson was not seen at practice. One must wonder if his injury is serious. It didn’t look good on Tuesday.
Ringo and Uche are new additions to the injury report. Ringo’s inclusion is curious since he seemed to finish Tuesday’s practice unscathed.
UPGRADED TO FULL PARTICIPATION
Undrafted rookie cornerback Brandon Johnson (groin) returned to practice after missing the last two days.
DARIUS COOPER IS GOOD AT FOOTBALL
The undrafted rookie wide receiver has had such an impressive summer. He went from being a long shot to make the team to being a lock to make the roster.
Before the team period even began, Cooper made a really nice one-handed grab in wide receiver drills. Then he made a highlight leaping grab in traffic while working on the first-team offense. Then he caught a touchdown pass to beat Adoree’ Jackson.
Cooper has quickly earned Hurts’ trust and respect. As such, the feeling here is that Cooper deserves to see targets in the offense this season. No disrespect to Jahan Dotson, who’s had a nice offseason, but Cooper has been the Eagles’ third best wide receiver … only behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.
In all likelihood, Dotson will begin the season as WR3. Cooper still has to prove his worth in regular season games. And his chances to do so as WR4, assuming he’s that high on the depth chart, will be limited.
Just don’t be surprised when he makes the most of them.
JIHAAD CAMPBELL, STARTING LINEBACKER
Campbell has seemingly overtaken Jeremiah Trotter Jr. on the depth chart. For the first time this summer, the 2025 first-round pick was first up as the first-team linebacker next to Zack Baun in 11-on-11s.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. had a good summer. So did rookie Smael Mondon Jr. They were probably good enough to start at linebacker for a lot of Eagles teams in recent years (which isn’t saying a ton).
But it’s Campbell’s time to shine.
POSITION BATTLE UPDATE — CORNERBACK
Adoree’ Jackson was first up with the first-team defense in 11-on-11 on Wednesday. That makes 12 days Jackson has been up first and six days for Kelee Ringo, who’s clearly fallen out of starting contention.
Jackson was flagged at least once for pass interference (maybe twice, couldn’t tell for sure) and gave up a touchdown reception to an undrafted rookie (albeit a really good one). If he wins the starting job, it’s by default more than it is by merit.
Thank you very much for following along with BGN’s daily training camp coverage! Hope you enjoyed it. I appreciate you being here to allow me to be at the NovaCare Complex.
Schedule for the next few days:
NFL teams must trim their rosters down to 53 players by 4:00 PM Eastern on Tuesday, August 26.
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