Latest / Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast / The DiCecco Daily: Takeaways From Eagles First Practice, First Injury Report For Week 7 Vs. Cowboys
Transcript
- 0:09Speaker 1: Hey, what's going on, everybody? Welcome in to another episode
- 0:12Speaker 1: of the Checo Daily. It's Andrew DiCecco, Eagles beat reporter
- 0:16Speaker 1: for InsideTheBirds.com. And today's Thursday, but it is the first
- 0:21Speaker 1: day of practice for the Eagles because, remember, they're playing
- 0:25Speaker 1: on Monday night. And the first practice report of the
- 0:28Speaker 1: week is pretty lengthy. So let me first get to
- 0:32Speaker 1: you who did not practice. Defensive back Michael Carter, abdomen
- 0:35Speaker 1: tight end Dallas Goddard, knee. Guard, Willie Lampkin, illness. Wide receiver,
- 0:40Speaker 1: Devontae Smith, hamstring. Outside linebacker, Nolan Smith, concussion. Wide receiver,
- 0:45Speaker 1: Dontavian Wicks, ankle. Okay. Not a good sign to not
- 0:51Speaker 1: have Dallas Goddard, Devontae Smith, and Dontavian Wicks not practicing
- 0:56Speaker 1: on the first day. Troubling here is that Devontae Smith
- 1:00Speaker 1: has now had this hamstring injury that he can't seem
- 1:02Speaker 1: to shake. And... We'll learn more on Friday, which is
- 1:07Speaker 1: the longer practice of the week for the Eagles. But
- 1:10Speaker 1: maybe it's precautionary. Maybe they're trying to limit his usage
- 1:14Speaker 1: out there, some wear and tear. But maybe he just
- 1:18Speaker 1: aggravated it again or it's just not getting right. And
- 1:22Speaker 1: I think this because Devontae on Friday when he spoke
- 1:25Speaker 1: last week talked about injuring it in the game against Tennessee.
- 1:30Speaker 1: He played through it. He played through it again in
- 1:33Speaker 1: Chicago and didn't do himself any favor. So it's hard
- 1:37Speaker 1: to say what the situation is here, but needless to say,
- 1:41Speaker 1: not good to not have your top receiver out there.
- 1:44Speaker 1: And then your second receiver, Dontavian Wicks, he's had the
- 1:48Speaker 1: hamstring flare up a couple weeks in a row, played
- 1:51Speaker 1: in those games, but now it's an ankle. So that
- 1:55Speaker 1: will be closely monitored throughout the week. Dallas got it
- 1:59Speaker 1: with the knee. That will be something certainly to keep
- 2:03Speaker 1: an eye on. Dallas has sustained the MCL in Week 2,
- 2:09Speaker 1: the MCL sprain in the Tennessee game, and missed, I think,
- 2:14Speaker 1: a couple. I can't remember. I think he missed a
- 2:17Speaker 1: couple of games, and then he was back. So we'll
- 2:22Speaker 1: have to keep an eye on what all that means.
- 2:24Speaker 1: I never overreact to... the first injury report of the week,
- 2:28Speaker 1: but I do note sort of trends and common themes here.
- 2:33Speaker 1: And the one that really sticks out to me is
- 2:35Speaker 1: Devontae Smith with the hamstring. Needless to say, for an
- 2:39Speaker 1: undermanned Eagles offense, that's the last thing they would need
- 2:42Speaker 1: to be down, potentially, your top two receivers and tight end.
- 2:46Speaker 1: But we're not going to get ahead of ourselves. We're
- 2:47Speaker 1: way early in the game here. Michael Carter II was
- 2:52Speaker 1: working on a side field with a trainer. He didn't
- 2:54Speaker 1: practice much. I like Michael Carter. I've made that very clear.
- 2:59Speaker 1: I liked him when he was with the Jets, his
- 3:02Speaker 1: skill set. I think he sort of transitioned well to
- 3:06Speaker 1: the safety position. I like smart football players when you
- 3:10Speaker 1: can see it on the field, their ability to communicate,
- 3:13Speaker 1: their short area quickness. He has really good eye discipline.
- 3:16Speaker 1: He's a veteran. He's played a lot of football, and
- 3:19Speaker 1: he's seen it all. I think he did a nice
- 3:21Speaker 1: job in that Rams game when he was pressed into
- 3:23Speaker 1: service and was playing safety there, and I think that
- 3:28Speaker 1: had he not gotten injured, he's now dealing with the
- 3:30Speaker 1: abdomen he missed last week. He suffered it in the
- 3:34Speaker 1: Jacksonville game. He probably starts, but right now it seems
- 3:37Speaker 1: like they're comfortable going with Kenny Moore moving forward. I
- 3:40Speaker 1: wrote a story about Kenny Moore on InsideTheBirds.com. Make sure
- 3:43Speaker 1: you read that. It's a good story, if I may
- 3:46Speaker 1: say so myself. But that is the DNPs for Thursday.
- 3:51Speaker 1: Nolan Smith, by the way, not a surprise. He's in
- 3:53Speaker 1: concussion protocol. You always worry about that. When he got hit,
- 3:58Speaker 1: he went down and just kind of folded. It was
- 4:01Speaker 1: a nasty helmet-to-helmet hit. I believe it was. And I
- 4:06Speaker 1: saw the replay a couple of times. But you always
- 4:09Speaker 1: feel for the player that's dealing with that. It's a
- 4:11Speaker 1: serious injury. And as I always say, there's no clear-cut timetable.
- 4:16Speaker 1: When it comes to a brain injury, there's a protocol
- 4:19Speaker 1: that you can't skip steps. And so maybe the Eagles
- 4:23Speaker 1: could be undermanned again at the edge rusher position, but
- 4:26Speaker 1: we're just way too early in the week here to
- 4:28Speaker 1: make that determination. I will have a little bit more
- 4:32Speaker 1: heightened concern with some of these guys if they pop
- 4:36Speaker 1: up again on Thursday, but we'll see where it goes.
- 4:40Speaker 1: Limited for the Eagles, running back Saquon Barkley, hamstring guard
- 4:44Speaker 1: Landon Dickerson, knee pectoral, outside linebacker A.J. Epinesa, back, outside
- 4:49Speaker 1: linebacker Jonathan Grenard, ankle, outside linebacker J. Lux Hunt, knee, ankle,
- 4:54Speaker 1: center Drew Kendall, knee, defensive tackle Mauro Jomo, abdomen guard
- 4:58Speaker 1: Tyler Steen, shoulder. The big name here, obviously, well, there's
- 5:01Speaker 1: a couple. But we'll start with Saquon Barkley. And Saquon Barkley,
- 5:06Speaker 1: I mentioned this in previous weeks, we hadn't seen him
- 5:10Speaker 1: on the practice field. That doesn't mean that he's not
- 5:12Speaker 1: coming out onto the field after the media-attended portion of practice.
- 5:17Speaker 1: That very well could be. But for the time that
- 5:19Speaker 1: we're out there, we haven't seen him for a couple
- 5:21Speaker 1: of weeks. He missed a couple games, suffered the hamstring
- 5:24Speaker 1: injury early in that Rams game. But He said he
- 5:28Speaker 1: really wanted to go on Sunday against the Panthers, but
- 5:31Speaker 1: he said, you talk to some people and you're like,
- 5:35Speaker 1: maybe they're right. But he said it would be a
- 5:39Speaker 1: great opportunity. He would love to play Monday night, but
- 5:41Speaker 1: he would be doing himself a disservice if he said,
- 5:44Speaker 1: I guarantee I'm going to be out there, etc. So
- 5:46Speaker 1: we'll just have to let things play out. But certainly encouraging.
- 5:50Speaker 1: I mean, if you connect the dots here, releasing Jaden Blue,
- 5:54Speaker 1: releasing Carson Steele, waved injured, really, and then signing Elijah
- 5:59Speaker 1: Mitchell to the practice squad, that tells you. that they
- 6:03Speaker 1: are at least optimistic that Saquon Barkley is going to
- 6:05Speaker 1: be out there Monday night. And I certainly think he's
- 6:07Speaker 1: trending in that direction. He'll only improve the more he's
- 6:11Speaker 1: out there, assuming there's no setbacks. And what you're looking
- 6:14Speaker 1: for with that is the full designation, which if you're
- 6:18Speaker 1: the Eagles, you're hoping shows up on Friday or Saturday.
- 6:23Speaker 1: Jalux Hunt, he spoke, suffered what appeared to be a
- 6:28Speaker 1: really nasty looking injury that It looked horrible at the time,
- 6:33Speaker 1: and here he is back there on the practice field
- 6:36Speaker 1: in a limited capacity. He mentioned that that injury was terrifying,
- 6:40Speaker 1: that he heard a pop, and it wasn't a natural
- 6:45Speaker 1: way to have your body positioned. But, you know, he
- 6:48Speaker 1: refused the card. He said it was kind of like
- 6:50Speaker 1: an unwritten rule unless you... physically can't walk or your
- 6:54Speaker 1: season's over, he wasn't going to take the cart. And
- 6:57Speaker 1: he said that, you know, the group chat that he's
- 6:59Speaker 1: in said that they would have been on his ass
- 7:01Speaker 1: if he had gotten carted off. But he mentioned just
- 7:05Speaker 1: sort of taking on a leadership role. And that happened
- 7:08Speaker 1: quickly because he talked about Brandon Graham instilling that confidence
- 7:13Speaker 1: in him and saying, it's going to be, it's going to,
- 7:15Speaker 1: you're going to be up before you know it. And
- 7:18Speaker 1: I'm paraphrasing here, but He said that he learned that
- 7:22Speaker 1: from Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, Patrick Johnson. He said a
- 7:25Speaker 1: lot of the vets that he's been around. And so
- 7:27Speaker 1: he's now there for the likes of a Keyshawn James
- 7:30Speaker 1: newbie who's on the practice squad and kind of relaying
- 7:34Speaker 1: a lot of the same messages that he received from
- 7:37Speaker 1: Brandon Graham and those guys. And he said, oh yeah,
- 7:39Speaker 1: he joked. He said, it's pretty much just copy and paste.
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- 11:06Speaker 1: It's the best way to support the show. You could
- 11:09Speaker 1: see that when we were talking to Keyshawn James Newby
- 11:12Speaker 1: at his locker today, I think J-Looks Hunt walked by
- 11:14Speaker 1: and he was like, yeah, Keyshawn. You know, it seems
- 11:17Speaker 1: like a lot of these guys are really excited for
- 11:20Speaker 1: some of these younger players who get an opportunity. And
- 11:22Speaker 1: J-Looks is a younger player as well. I'm not suggesting
- 11:25Speaker 1: he isn't. But even when I talked to A.K. Ebikady
- 11:31Speaker 1: in the locker room on Thursday and I mentioned Keyshawn
- 11:34Speaker 1: and how he played 48 snaps and how he– tried
- 11:38Speaker 1: to pass along a message and and and help guide
- 11:41Speaker 1: him through that game he wasn't expected to play that
- 11:44Speaker 1: many snaps and you know he he kind of just
- 11:46Speaker 1: said that he was calming him down they also had
- 11:49Speaker 1: grunard who was in the mix that game as well
- 11:51Speaker 1: and they they they seem to be really proud just
- 11:54Speaker 1: collectively of how he was able to acquit himself out
- 11:57Speaker 1: there but jay looks hunt is quietly growing into a
- 12:01Speaker 1: leader he's vocal he's charismatic of course but he's vocal
- 12:05Speaker 1: he's He is someone that I think leads by example,
- 12:09Speaker 1: but he was around a lot of veterans as he
- 12:12Speaker 1: was coming up. And so now it's almost like he's
- 12:14Speaker 1: paying it forward to not only Keyshawn James Newby, but
- 12:17Speaker 1: he said that we tell Josh, Josh Wehru, the same thing,
- 12:21Speaker 1: that it's not a matter of if, but when. He said,
- 12:24Speaker 1: someone in this room is going to be injured this
- 12:26Speaker 1: year and you got to stay ready. You got to
- 12:28Speaker 1: be prepared for your opportunity. And I think that that's
- 12:31Speaker 1: really important messaging to get from a player who's really
- 12:34Speaker 1: young in this league and But the fact that he
- 12:37Speaker 1: was out there is very encouraging. And Vic Fangio said
- 12:42Speaker 1: it's possible that Jalux could play. He didn't say it
- 12:46Speaker 1: with certainty or anything like that. Who knows where things
- 12:49Speaker 1: actually stand, but at least he's out there. getting some
- 12:55Speaker 1: work in because that injury looked gruesome. It looked as
- 12:58Speaker 1: though that could have been a season ending injury. But
- 13:02Speaker 1: the good news there is that Jay Wilkes Hunt's out there.
- 13:05Speaker 1: And so is A.J. Epinesa, who was ruled out of
- 13:08Speaker 1: that game with a back injury. And Jonathan Grenard with
- 13:12Speaker 1: the ankle. He was also limited. So they have some
- 13:15Speaker 1: of those guys that you're going to need to lean on,
- 13:18Speaker 1: whether it be for depth purposes in the case of
- 13:21Speaker 1: Epinesa or or for more prominent roles in Grenard and Jalux. Now,
- 13:25Speaker 1: that doesn't guarantee anything. That doesn't suggest that they're going
- 13:28Speaker 1: to play definitively or anything like that. But the fact
- 13:31Speaker 1: that they are not listed as did not practice is
- 13:34Speaker 1: certainly an encouraging development. And we'll just have to continue
- 13:38Speaker 1: to see where things stand. And I like to always
- 13:41Speaker 1: say that because it's essentially the Wednesday practice. Everything's altered
- 13:46Speaker 1: a little bit because they play on Monday night. So
- 13:48Speaker 1: it's tough to overreact one way or the other. but
- 13:52Speaker 1: I think the fact that they are listed as limited
- 13:54Speaker 1: is something that you should view as a positive sign.
- 13:59Speaker 1: And full go. Zach Bond, shoulder. Cornerback, Ja'Corian Bennett, knee.
- 14:04Speaker 1: Wide receiver, Hollywood Brown, ankle. Tight end, Grant Calcaterra, back. Linebacker,
- 14:08Speaker 1: Jahad Campbell, wrist. Defensive tackle, Jalen Carter, wrist. Wide receiver,
- 14:12Speaker 1: Britton Covey, shoulder. Defensive tackle, Jordan Davis, shin, thumb. Outside
- 14:17Speaker 1: linebacker Arnold Abacate, shoulder, tight end, Eli Stowers, quad. So
- 14:22Speaker 1: if you notice, oh, and I should go back a
- 14:24Speaker 1: second because I mentioned Landon Dickerson being limited. He was
- 14:28Speaker 1: listed last week with a knee. This one now includes
- 14:31Speaker 1: the pectoral. So that's a new injury, something to keep
- 14:34Speaker 1: an eye on here. And of those four players who
- 14:38Speaker 1: had their practice window open last week, Landon is the
- 14:41Speaker 1: only one who's listed as limited. Ja'Corian Bennett, full. Grant Calcaterra, full.
- 14:48Speaker 1: And Eli Stowers, full. So it's good news that they
- 14:54Speaker 1: have some players here that you may be curious about.
- 14:58Speaker 1: Grant Calcaterra, Eli Stowers. Jordan Davis is a big one here.
- 15:03Speaker 1: He looked like he sustained a gruesome injury himself. Looked
- 15:10Speaker 1: like an ankle in the game. He needed assistance walking
- 15:13Speaker 1: off the field and then into the tunnel. And I
- 15:15Speaker 1: saw that he had an ice pack, a bag of
- 15:18Speaker 1: ice around his ankle. But it turns out it was
- 15:21Speaker 1: the shin thumb. And the fact that he was a
- 15:24Speaker 1: full participant, that has to be, I can almost hear
- 15:28Speaker 1: a collective sigh of relief across the Delaware Valley and
- 15:31Speaker 1: beyond because he's a critical piece of this defense. He
- 15:35Speaker 1: hasn't gotten off to the best start this season, but
- 15:38Speaker 1: He is not only key on the field, but also
- 15:40Speaker 1: off the field as well as a big-time leader. And
- 15:43Speaker 1: the same goes for Saquon Barker. We talk about his
- 15:45Speaker 1: value on the field and what he provides and what
- 15:47Speaker 1: he presents and how he's really the engine that fuels
- 15:50Speaker 1: this running game. But he's also almost as impactful as
- 15:55Speaker 1: a leader, if not on the same level, because Jordan
- 15:58Speaker 1: Maillard has been doing a lot of the heavy lifting
- 15:59Speaker 1: in that area when you don't have Lane Johnson, Cam Juergens,
- 16:03Speaker 1: Jalen Hurts. A lot of guys have been banged up
- 16:06Speaker 1: and out of the lineup, and Jordan Mailata has really
- 16:08Speaker 1: been the spokesperson for the team. And Saquon Barkley also
- 16:12Speaker 1: fits into that category, and now having him back there
- 16:15Speaker 1: on the field, I think is going to be especially
- 16:18Speaker 1: paramount to this team as they look to embark on
- 16:22Speaker 1: a really critical stretch of the season against some NFC
- 16:24Speaker 1: East opponents. So having a voice like that, that leads
- 16:28Speaker 1: by example, but he's also a fiery leader as well
- 16:32Speaker 1: in Saquon Barkley. But Getting back to Jordan Davis, that's
- 16:36Speaker 1: especially key. And, you know, he's someone that can provide
- 16:41Speaker 1: run stuffing, the run stuffing element. He hasn't played a
- 16:45Speaker 1: ton of snaps this year, but the last thing the
- 16:48Speaker 1: Eagles need on that side of the ball is another
- 16:50Speaker 1: injury because that is a unit that's supposed to do
- 16:54Speaker 1: the heavy lifting this year. And really they have. And
- 16:57Speaker 1: so that's your injury report for Thursday. The Eagles had
- 17:00Speaker 1: some transactions on, Thursday. I'm getting all my days mixed
- 17:06Speaker 1: up here. I don't know which way is up, but
- 17:10Speaker 1: they waved tight on EJ Jenkins from the 53, and
- 17:14Speaker 1: they signed running back Jaden Blue, guard Evan Neal, and
- 17:17Speaker 1: linebacker Anthony Orji to the practice squad. So Jaden Blue,
- 17:22Speaker 1: he had been on the practice squad before the Panthers game.
- 17:25Speaker 1: They signed him to the 53. He didn't play any
- 17:27Speaker 1: snaps in the game. They released him, and now he's
- 17:30Speaker 1: on the practice squad. I thought that that might be
- 17:32Speaker 1: the case. Evan Neal is an interesting player because I
- 17:35Speaker 1: think he started 27 games. He was a first-round pick
- 17:38Speaker 1: of the New York Giants. And he's a guard. He
- 17:41Speaker 1: gives you some good depth. Those are the kind of
- 17:43Speaker 1: players that you want to take a swing on and
- 17:45Speaker 1: have on your practice squad. And maybe, as a 26-year-old player,
- 17:50Speaker 1: you're able to get something out of him. He's 6'7,
- 17:51Speaker 1: 340 pounds, went to Alabama, was the seventh overall pick
- 17:53Speaker 1: in the 2022 draft, was with the Giants. the Raiders
- 18:05Speaker 1: in training camp, and he is now with the Eagles.
- 18:09Speaker 1: But he was released by the Giants on August 30th.
- 18:15Speaker 1: And then with the Raiders, he signed to their practice
- 18:17Speaker 1: squad September 3rd and was released on October 19th, signs
- 18:22Speaker 1: with the Eagles today. I saw him on the practice field.
- 18:24Speaker 1: He's wearing number 79. I actually have a picture of
- 18:26Speaker 1: him on my phone. But Yeah, that's the kind of
- 18:30Speaker 1: player that you want to bring in. He's young. He
- 18:31Speaker 1: does have the pedigree. And in theory, he provides some
- 18:35Speaker 1: depth if you need him to. He's played in the league.
- 18:38Speaker 1: And maybe a change of scenery will serve him well.
- 18:41Speaker 1: We'll see how that all progresses. And then when you
- 18:45Speaker 1: get to the tight end position, EJ Jenkins released from
- 18:47Speaker 1: the 53-man roster. Look, I don't make these roster decisions,
- 18:52Speaker 1: but I don't agree with it personally. I think if
- 18:56Speaker 1: you felt... enough conviction to keep him on the 53
- 19:01Speaker 1: over the likes of a Cameron lot to, and Howie
- 19:04Speaker 1: Roseman spoke about what EJ provided, what he observed from him,
- 19:09Speaker 1: why he earned the spot on the 53 during the, uh,
- 19:13Speaker 1: the post cut down press conference. So what's changed. I
- 19:17Speaker 1: think he gives you more than Johnny months. I think, uh,
- 19:22Speaker 1: Johnny month has been billed as this prolific blocker, uh,
- 19:26Speaker 1: I haven't seen anything from him. At least EJ Jenkins
- 19:29Speaker 1: is a top performer. He's certainly among the top two
- 19:31Speaker 1: or three in snap share. He provides value on game day.
- 19:35Speaker 1: You got to feel for Michael Clay a little bit here.
- 19:37Speaker 1: He loses another guy for his unit. So that's never
- 19:41Speaker 1: a good thing. But I mean, I think with the
- 19:44Speaker 1: opportunities and the role that he had, EJ did more
- 19:47Speaker 1: with it than Johnny Munt has done with his team.
- 19:50Speaker 1: And so I look at the tight end room and
- 19:53Speaker 1: you wonder where, you know, what factored into that decision-making process.
- 19:59Speaker 1: But maybe he comes back on the practice squad. I
- 20:01Speaker 1: don't even know because they have, and I listed all
- 20:05Speaker 1: the tight ends that they have, They now have three
- 20:07Speaker 1: spots open on the 53.
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- 22:39Speaker 1: I would imagine one would go to either Zach Ertz
- 22:43Speaker 1: or Eli Stowers. Who knows? But Zach Ertz, I feel
- 22:49Speaker 1: kind of stronger in because he was on the practice squad.
- 22:52Speaker 1: Maybe they had some sort of a prearranged agreement. You
- 22:55Speaker 1: start out on the practice squad and we burn your
- 22:57Speaker 1: elevations and then we get you, we find a way
- 22:59Speaker 1: to get you on the active roster. But if that's
- 23:01Speaker 1: the case, man, Zach Hertz does not play special teams.
- 23:05Speaker 1: Zach Hertz is not a prolific blocker. I mean, EJ
- 23:09Speaker 1: at six foot six, 260 pounds can do that. He
- 23:13Speaker 1: can run down the field. He can help you in
- 23:15Speaker 1: the field goal protection, punt, you know, all that stuff.
- 23:21Speaker 1: I thought that that was a move that I felt
- 23:23Speaker 1: was kind of curious. And I know that he's a
- 23:26Speaker 1: name that a lot of folks maybe aren't familiar with.
- 23:28Speaker 1: They probably scratched their head when he made the roster.
- 23:31Speaker 1: But I think when you have a player of that
- 23:32Speaker 1: unique size and you already lost Cameron Latu to cutting him,
- 23:37Speaker 1: you don't have Will Shipley, Trotters playing more on defense.
- 23:42Speaker 1: A lot of key guys are no longer there. Kylan Granson,
- 23:47Speaker 1: Sidney Brown. You can't keep taking away from a unit
- 23:52Speaker 1: and expecting them to produce. I know that's life in
- 23:54Speaker 1: the NFL, but I don't think that he would have
- 23:59Speaker 1: been the tight end that I would have moved off of.
- 24:01Speaker 1: That probably would have been Johnny Munt at 31 years old.
- 24:03Speaker 1: You release him, you put him on the practice squad,
- 24:07Speaker 1: and you proceed from there. Look, it's not a move
- 24:11Speaker 1: that's going to make or break the season. It's just
- 24:13Speaker 1: one that I personally didn't agree with, and I found
- 24:17Speaker 1: a little bit head-scratching, but I'm trying to explain the
- 24:19Speaker 1: logic into my thought process, the Eagles' thought process, and
- 24:23Speaker 1: where they may go from there because now they have
- 24:27Speaker 1: some open spots on the 53 from which to work with.
- 24:31Speaker 1: So that's going to do it for this episode of
- 24:33Speaker 1: the Checo Daily. I'm Andrew DiCecco, and I'll catch you
- 24:36Speaker 1: all on the next one.