Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Zech McPhearson getting reps at slot cornerback highlighted the Eagles second day of OTAs
The Eagles held their second OTA session of the summer, the first that was opened to the local and national media.
Philadelphia had four players miss the voluntary session on Thursday, but the work was still efficient, allowing a cast of new faces to continue embracing the culture and schemes.
Nick Sirianni’s team will have another practice on Friday before breaking until Monday and Tuesday’s OTA sessions.
With practice completed, here are Thursday’s notes, videos, and media sessions.
We’re looking at the takeaways and analysis from Day 2 of the Philadelphia Eagles OTAs
The Eagles held their second OTA session of the summer, the first that was opened to the local and national media.
Philadelphia had four players miss the voluntary session on Thursday, but the work was still efficient, allowing a cast of new faces to continue embracing the culture and schemes.
Nick Sirianni’s team will have another practice on Friday before breaking until Monday and Tuesday’s OTA sessions.
With practice completed, here are the takeaways and observations from the first open practice of the summer.
We’re looking at the notes, videos, highlights, takeaways and observations from Day 2 of the Philadelphia Eagles OTAs
The Eagles held their second OTA session of the summer, the first that was opened to the local and national media.
Philadelphia had four players miss the voluntary session on Thursday, but the work was still efficient, and it allowed a cast of new faces to continue embracing the culture and schemes.
Nick Sirianni’s team will have another practice on Friday before breaking until Monday and Tuesday’s OTA sessions.
With practice completed, here are the notes, videos, and media sessions from Thursday.
During Day of Philadelphia’s OTA sessions, Nicholas Morrow confirmed that linebacker Nakobe Dean has the green dot and will call the Eagles defense in 2023
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Nakobe Dean will enter 2023 with huge expectations, four Georgia teammates on the roster, and he’ll be the Eagles’ primary play-caller on defense.
It’s Sean Desai’s defense, but Dean, the former Bulldogs All-American linebacker, will wear the lime green dot.
Nakobe Dean has the green dot, Nick Morrow says. Big role for the second-year linebacker but also expected.
— Dave Zangaro (@DZangaroNBCS) June 1, 2023
Looking to help even things out on both sides of the football, the NFL allowed headset communications for defensive players in 2008, revolutionizing that side of the ball and making linebackers the de facto quarterbacks on defense.
Gone are the days of wristbands and hand signals, replaced by the green dot that allowed defenses to evolve technologically and schematically.
The system allows one-way, coach-to-player communication between plays before the play clock reaches 15 seconds.
That responsibility will now go to Dean, showing how much Eagles’ brass believes in the former Georgia defender.
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DeVonta Smith is absent from Day 2 of Philadelphia Eagles OTAs
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DeVonta Smith is preparing for his second annual Celebrity Softball game , and with last minutes details needing to be addressed, the Eagles star was absent from Day 2 of OTAs.
No DeVonta Smith today at #Eagles practice.
All minicamp practices are voluntary.
— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) June 1, 2023
OTAs are voluntary, and Smith is a year away from any new contract discussions, so it’s an absence that shouldn’t be that big of a deal.
He wasn’t the only player to miss Thursday’s workouts, with Lane Johnson, Fletcher Cox, and Brandon Graham also not in attendance.
The Eagles look to have pretty good attendance at their second OTA session but several veterans aren’t here. Among them: DeVonta Smith, Lane Johnson, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham
As a reminder: All these OTAs are voluntary.
— Dave Zangaro (@DZangaroNBCS) June 1, 2023
Cox arrived on Tuesday for the first session, telling the media that he “likes to pop his head in” while maintaining his professionalism.
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Josh Sweat raves about the work ethic of Eagles’ rookies Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith
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Players from Alabama and Georgia are a different breed, so it shouldn’t be a shock when their top NFL draft prospects transition smoothly to the NFL.
College football has always been big business, but with the new NIL deals adding millions to the scenario, the top players are entering the NFL already professionally made.
Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith have been in Philadelphia for a few weeks, but the two former All-Americans have already absorbed the work ethic and professionalism.
Following a recent OTA session, Josh Sweat raved to Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia about the work ethic of the Eagles’ top picks.
“They’re great,” Sweat said last week. “The work ethic is pretty crazy for both of them. They’re already working. Shoot, they’re professionals, man. It’s actually surprising coming out of college. But I mean, they’re working, they’re just here to learn and they’re making improvement quickly.”
“I think it’s just they’ve been on championship teams already,” Sweat said. “I think they just know how to go about their business.”
After missing on draft picks, the Eagles retooled their draft strategy, purposely focusing on SEC players or guys from the big two of Bama and Georgia.
With the addition of Carter, Smith, and Kelee Ringo, Philadelphia now has five Bulldog defenders on the roster.
At Georgia, the most recent trio of players won back-to-back national championships and the first title with Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean.
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We’re looking at the five biggest Philadelphia Eagles related storylines ahead of Tuesday’s first OTA session
The Eagles are just hours away from kicking off the first of six scheduled OTA sessions over the next week of offseason workouts.
The Birds have no mandatory minicamp scheduled for the third year in a row; Philadelphia should have 100 percent attendance at the voluntary OTA sessions before breaking off official team activities until late July.
With all eyes on the seven-player 2023 NFL draft, here are the five biggest storylines entering OTAs.
We’re looking at one player to watch at each position group during the Philadelphia Eagles six OTA sessions
After a busy offseason of retooling the roster, the Eagles’ organized team activities will begin on Tuesday, May 30.
Philadelphia’s OTAs will be held May 30, June 1-2, June 5-6, and June 8 before the team breaks until the start of training camp.
While the team prepares to return to the field with the entire roster and the coaching staff, we preview one player to watch at each position group.
We’re taking an updated look at the Philadelphia Eagles’ current 89-man roster after some recent moves and the start of Organized Team Activities
Following the 2023 NFL draft, rookie minicamp, and several phases of offseason workouts, the Eagles organized team activities will begin on Tuesday, May 30.
Philadelphia currently has about $14,651,869 in cap space per Over The Cap, and they’re spending about $80+ million plus on both sides of the football, with the offensive and defensive lines carrying the most significant chunk of cap space.
The Eagles’ OTAs will be held May 30, June 1-2, June 5-6, and June 8 before the teams breaks until the start of training camp.
While the team gets ready to get back on the field with the full roster and the coaching staff, let’s take a second to provide an updated roster, complete with all 89 players, ordered by jersey number.
We’re taking an updated look at the Philadelphia Eagles’ current 89-man roster after some recent moves and ahead of OTAs
The first wave of the 2023 NFL free agency process came and went, with the Eagles quietly retooling their roster by restocking homegrown talent.
At the start of the new league year, Philadelphia had eight key contributors land lucrative deals elsewhere on the open market.
The Birds retained six free agents while adding three new players, including former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota who reached an agreement on a one-year, $5 million deal worth up to $8 million.
Howie Roseman addressed the defense by adding safeties Justin Evans and Terrell Edmunds on one-year deals.
The Eagles’ GM put on a clinic during the NFL draft, landing three more Georgia Bulldogs, a hybrid safety, and more offensive line talent.
Philadelphia signed nine undrafted rookies and invited 19 players to gather for a rookie minicamp.
Philadelphia currently has about $14,651,869 in cap space per Over The Cap, and they’re spending about $80+ million plus on both sides of the football, with the offensive and defensive lines carrying the most significant chunk of cap space.
The overall positional spending will change in the coming years after Jalen Hurts signed a massive five-year, $255 million contract extension, making him among the two highest-paid players on average in NFL history.
Here’s an updated look at Philadelphia’s roster as the team works to get up to 90 players for training camp.
