Eagles Training Camp Practice Notes: First look at John Metchie III
Monday marked the 17th Philadelphia Eagles training camp practice ahead of the 2025 NFL season. The fully padded session lasted for just under two hours and it was one of the most intense scrimmage-like practices of the summer. Hereās what I observed at the NovaCare Complex.
EAGLES PRACTICE NOTES
JALEN HURTS UPDATE
Itās hard not to grade Hurts on a curve considering the first-team offense was missing A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jordan Mailata, and Landon Dickerson. Lane Johnson and Dallas Goedert also took less than 100% of their normal reps.
Unable to rely on his patchwork offensive line to give him great protection, Hurts did well at times to work the quick game. He had a number of short completions in this regard. That said, he still had some reps where it looked like he held the ball for too long.
Hurts had two nice downfield completions in 1-on-1s. He first dropped the ball in a bucket to Jahan Dotson to beat Quinyon Mitchell (!) and then to Terrace Marshall Jr. to beat Mac McWilliams.
Hurtsā first passing attempt in team drills was a short completion to undrafted rookie Darius Cooper, whom he seems to be building trust with.
Hurts did miss Cooper high on one rep. He then wide on another pass, though the wide receiver might not have been exactly where the quarterback expected him to be.
Hurts had a good completion to Grant Calcaterra while rolling left on a scramble drill. The No. 2 tight end did well to uncover from Cooper DeJean by cutting back to the middle of the field for a completion.
Hurts was picked off by Nolan Smith on a play where the quarterback tried to throw over the middle to Saquon Barkley.
All told, a mixed bag for Hurts.
EAGLES INJURY REPORT
IN-PRACTICE INJURIES
Andrew Mukuba and Johnny Wilson notably left practice early and did not return.
Mukuba was grabbing at the back of his left leg after 1-on-1 drills early in practice. He took one more rep in another drill before walking to the medical tent with a trainer. He then headed back into the teamās headquarters. One would think the rookie safety might be dealing with a hamstring injury. Just when it seemed like Mukuba was moving ahead of Sydney Brown in the starting safety competition, it looks like the latter candidate has the advantage once again. Mukuba previously missed a good chunk of training camp and one preseason game due to a shoulder injury. Not good that he hasnāt been able to stay healthy.
Wilson got rolled up on by Brett Toth on a running play. He seemed to be in pain as he hobbled off the field to the medical tent with help from a trainer. Wilson was later carted off, which is never an encouraging sign. Wilson had a rough start to camp but he really turned it around since then. The Eaglesā recent trade for another wide receiver (John Metchie III) is looking like a good move.
DID NOT PRACTICE
WR A.J. Brown (hamstring)
CB Tariq Castro-Fields (hamstring)
S Lewis Cine (groin)
OG Landon Dickerson (knee)
CB Brandon Johnson (groin)
OT Jordan Mailata (concussion)
QB Tanner McKee (finger)
WR DeVonta Smith (groin)
Brown has missed four straight practices. He did get some rehab work in prior to practice. And he was also throwing the ball around in some individual drills. Iād be very surprised if he misses Week 1.
DeVontaās groin injury is a new development. He previously missed some practices due to back tightness.
Mailataās concussion is a new development. Heās been wearing a compression sleeve on one of his legs that seems to be less than 100%. But he hasnāt been listed on the injury report with that issue.
McKee suffered a finger injury during Mondayās practice. Itās reportedly a non-surgical injury.
Dickerson watched practice from the sideline once again.
Cine has missed three straight practices and one preseason game.
Johnson and TCF have missed two straight practices.
LIMITED PARTICIPATION
TE Dallas Goedert (groin)
Goedertās groin injury is a new development. He participated in team drills but I donāt think he took his normal workload.
UPGRADED TO FULL PARTICIPATION
Lane Johnson (rest), Kenyon Green (shoulder), and AJ Woods (illness) were removed from the injury report after being listed as limited on Monday. But Lane still got some rest; he didnāt take 100% of the starter reps.
FIRST LOOK AT JOHN METCHIE III
JM3 missed yesterday morningās practice since the trade between the Eagles and Houston Texans wasnāt made official until later in the afternoon.
It didnāt take long for Metchie to get involved on Tuesday. After taking part in 1-on-1s, he saw multiple targets from Kyle McCord while running with the second-team offense in team drills. Metchie caught the first pass that came his way for a good gain over the middle but then he dropped the ball that was thrown to him on a slant. Metchie later saw first-team reps; he was open for a short gain after running across the formation in pre-snap motion.
Metchie also took some punt returner reps (along with Ainas Smith, Jahan Dotson, and Cooper DeJean) despite not having significant experience in that role.
POSITION BATTLE UPDATE ā CORNERBACK
Cooper DeJean continued to take outside cornerback reps in the Eaglesā base defense.
Adoreeā Jackson was first up with the first-team defense in 11-on-11 on Tuesday. That makes 11 days Jackson has been up first and six days for Kelee Ringo.
Jackson was in position to blow up Cooper after a short reception (reminder: the Eagles arenāt actually tackling). The veteran cornerback made a leaping pass breakup on a short Hurts throw to Goedert.
Jakorian Bennett, not Ringo, rotated in for Jackson with the first-team defense. I didnāt write his name down in my notes during team drills but he did break up a short Hurts pass during 1-on-1s.
I wonder if Ringoās confidence is shaken right now. Not hard to understand how that could be the case after he entered camp as the favorite to start and heās since been demoted. During a special team drill where the Eagles were having gunners practice batting the ball out of the end zone to prevent touchbacks, Ringo totally flubbed an opportunity where the ball wouldāve been downed inside the three-yard line. Later, Ringo allowed multiple Kyle McCord completions to Elijah Cooks. Ringo took reps during the end of practice developmental drills for the second day in a row.
POSITION BATTLE UPDATE ā SAFETY
In case you missed it above, Mukuba is dealing with what seems to be a hamstring injury. Advantage: Sydney Brown, who took all the first-team safety reps next to Reed Blankenship.
If Mukuba has to miss time, I wonder if the Eagles will even play Brown against the New York Jets on Friday night? Or at least not for long. Donāt want to risk another safety injury.
POSITION BATTLE UPDATE ā LINEBACKER
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. was still first up as the first-team linebacker next to Zack Baun.
Trot Jr. was in position to blow up a Hurts shovel pass to Saquon for a loss. Totally sniffed it out.
POSITION BATTLE UPDATE – QB3
With Tanner McKee not practicing, Kyle McCord took all the QB2 reps in todayās practice.
McCord did well to not panic against a heavy blitz. He kept his eyes downfield and fired a completion to a crossing Elijah Cooks. McCord had another good completion to Cooks and generally looked OK for rookie QB3 standards.
McCord did get picked off by Tristin McCollum on a pass over the middle.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson saw just a few reps in the developmental period towards the end of practice. DTR threw a pick to Eli Ricks that went through the cornerbackās hands.
McCord is ahead of DTR with one week remaining until roster cuts down to 53 players.
MISCELLANEOUS
A leaping Jalen Carter knocked down a Hurts pass at the line of scrimmage. Carter then gave Hurts a finger wag.Zack Baun doesnāt look like heās dealing with lingering effects from his back injury. Heās been awesome since returning to action. The offense tried to spring Saquon Barkley out on the edge with a swing pass but Baun destroyed Kylen Gransonās block to help limit the play to a short gain.A stunting Jordan Davis logged a āsackā on Hurts where the quarterback was forced to step up due to pressure from the edge. On that rep, Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt were lined up next to each other over the left side of the offensive line.Ainias Smith continues to look at his best in 1-on-1s. He had some catches for pretty short gains in team drills.Cooper on Cooper crime: Cooper DeJean broke up a short Hurts pass to Darius Cooper in 1-on-1s. Eagles fans could have an opportunity to yell COOOOOOOP on both offense and defense this year.Matt Pryor repped at left tackle with Jordan Mailata not practicing. It wasnāt very pretty. Jalyx Hunt dominated him to generate two sacks early in practice. Offensive line depth is a real concern. And specifically the swing tackle role.Darian Kinnard repped at right tackle when Lane Johnson was resting. Kinnard seems like a good bet to make the team again.Kenyon Green lined up at second-team left guard. He might make the team after all due to the combination of Dickersonās injury and other backup offensive linemen struggling. Trevor Keegan did rotate in at second-team LG.Giles Jackson made a deep catch for a touchdown in 1-on-1s where the ball initially bounced off him and/or the defending AJ Woods but Jackson still managed to track it and catch it after going to the ground. That drew some excitement from the crowd at practice.UP NEXT
Schedule for the next several days:
Wednesday, August 20 ā Eagles training camp practice at 10:00 AM Eastern (NovaCare Complex)Thursday, August 21 ā Walkthrough closed to media accessFriday, August 22 ā Eagles at Jets preseason game starting at 7:30 PM Eastern (MetLife Stadium)Saturday, August 23 ā Off day
