Camp Moves

Posted:July 22nd, 2025 |Author:Tommy Lawlor|

The Eagles made some last minute moves as Training Camp is about to get underway. Howie Roseman does this on a regular basis, finding a position or two that needs better depth and making roster tweaks to address the situation.

The Eagles have a good set of DTs in Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Moro Ojomo and rookie Ty Robinson. Thomas Booker flashed last year and has a good chance to make the team. Things are wide open after that. Byron Young was a mid-round pick a few years back. He could push for a spot. Gabe Hall was on the practice squad last year.

Jacob Sykes might remind you of Milton Williams, in terms of size and style. Sykes is 6-3, 282. He is an athletic DT who is at his best attacking up the field. He does have some NFL experience, having played for DL coach Clint Hurtt in Seattle. Here are some clips of Sykes in action. He’s #59 in the Seattle clip.

Sykes plays with good leverage and strength. He gets off the block and makes the play. He showed the ability to rush the passer when he was in the UFL.

Sykes is a long shot, but at least gives the Eagles better depth at DT.

As for Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, he improves depth on the edge. Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt are the starters. Azeez Ojulari and Josh Uche are the projected backups right now. Rookie Antwaun Powell-Ryland has the potential to make the roster. He is a good athlete. Patrick Johnson is a try-hard guy who could push for a roster spot, but doesn’t have the athleticism you really need to be an effective rusher.

Okoronkwo is 30 years old. He has played in 80 games and has 17 career sacks. He started 13 games over the last three seasons, totaling 12.5 sacks, 26 TFLs, and 25 QB hits. He’s obviously got legit NFL ability. The Eagles wouldn’t have added an older backup if they didn’t think he could contribute. Okoronkwo could end up as a good candidate for the practice squad.

The Eagles have wisely focused on younger players for most of the offseason. They are pretty young at edge so adding a veteran there does make some sense.

***

A more important move came on Monday.

Mukuba has a great chance to start this season. He is the kind of versatile playmaker that teams want in the secondary. He has played the nickel, but can also play in the box or back deep. Mukuba has good ball skills. He is an aggressive hitter and tackler. He would be a great complement to Reed Blankenship.

Vic Fangio showed last year that he’s not afraid to play rookies, even as starters. The Eagles spent a high pick on Mukuba so that tells you they like him and have high expectations. He’ll have every chance to win the starting job. But he will have to earn it. Fangio cares more about talent than age. If Mukuba plays well, he’ll start. If not it will be Sydney Brown or Tristin McCollum. Maybe UDFA Maxen Hook shocks everyone. Or it could be a veteran who isn’t with the team as of now.

*****

Ozzy Osbourne died on Tuesday.

I was aware of him back in the mid-80’s, but didn’t really start listening until my friend Mark got me into Black Sabbath’s Paranoid album. How could you not fall in love with War Pigs, Iron Man or the song Paranoid? A few months later I bought Black Sabbath’s debut album. The cassette tape version of course. It was 1988.

I started listening to the self-titled Black Sabbath tape and fell in love with it. I remember playing songs for some of my buddies. It was darker and edgier than Paranoid so it didn’t connect with them at all. That’s when I realized being a heavy metal fan wasn’t going to be for everyone.

Sabbath was my gateway drug. Next came Iron Maiden. Then Metallica. 35 years later and I’m still listening to heavy metal, everything from Judas Priest to Slipknot to Pantera to Slayer. All thanks to Ozzy.

He truly is a singular figure. Ozzy had great songs over a 30-year period. He remained culturaly relevant until the day he died. The stories about his drunken antics and drug-fueld debachery are legendary. He’s probably lucky that the worst moments came at a time when we didn’t have video tape of every single second of someone’s life. We hear stories about him and somehow that makes the incidents easier to accept.

And just about everyone in the metal world loved the guy. He was like the Pope of Heavy Metal. He preferred being known as the Prince of Darkness. He embraced that moniker and somehow made it fun.

RIP to an absolute legend.

http://igglesblitz.com/2025/07/camp-moves/

I can’t help but feel that DE is really light! There’s not much in the way of rotation there especially if Ojulari doesn’t work out.