Eagles Training Camp Practice Notes: Jalen Hurts to A.J. Brown for the play of the day

[time2rock]

Eagles Training Camp Practice Notes: Jalen Hurts to A.J. Brown for the play of the day

Observations from Tuesday’s session.

By Brandon Lee Gowton@BrandonGowton  Updated Aug 16, 2022, 4:43pm EDT  

 

Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

 

• JALEN HURTS STOCK REPORT:

Nice to see Hurts bounce back after a stock down performance on Sunday. More good than bad on Tuesday.

Hurts started practice by lofting a ball to an open Zach Pascal in the back right corner of the end zone. The rest of his 11-on-11 red zone series wasn’t as fruitful; he took multiple ‘sacks’ after holding on to the ball for too long.

Hurts looked better in red zone 7-on-7. He didn’t take off running once (progress!). He instead used his arm for several good quick throws, including a pair to Dallas Goedert for touchdowns. The first connection with Goedert came on a crosser to the left side of the field. The second score was when Hurts fit a ball to his top tight end on a curl despite T.J. Edwards having tight coverage.

In 11-on-11 with the offense driving, Hurts connected with DeVonta Smith along the left sideline. The ball was slightly high but still catchable. Then Hurts was on the money to A.J. Brown on a comeback along the left sideline.

There was a flashy play where Hurts very quickly got ‘sacked’ by Haason Reddick but kept the rep going by rolling to his left and firing a high strike to Smith, who made an impressive leaping grab tight along the sideline while managing to tap both of his feet inbounds. With the offense eventually moving into goal-to-go territory, Hurts capped off a drive with an easy throw to a wide open Goedert.

Hurts’ best throw of camp came in this practice. He demonstrated a fast release and really good zip on a ball down the right sideline to hit A.J. Brown in stride for a catch-and-run touchdown. Josh Jobe and K’Von Wallace were the ones trailing in coverage on that play.

Let’s see if Hurts can build on this performance with some good showings against the Browns! That would be pretty encouraging for his outlook.

Stock up.

• JALEN HURTS STOCK TRACKER OVERVIEW

Day 1: Stock even

Day 2: Stock down

Day 3: Stock down

Day 4: Stock even

Day 5: Stock up

Day 6: Stock down

Day 7: Stock even

Day 8: Stock up

Day 9: Stock even

Day 10: Stock up

Day 11: Stock down

Day 12: Stock up

• EAGLES INJURY NEWS

DID NOT PARTICIPATE: Grant Calcaterra (hamstring), Christian Ellis (hamstring), Marcus Epps (back), Javon Hargrave (toe), Jason Kelce (elbow), Jared Mayden (ankle), Miles Sanders (hamstring), Greg Ward (toe).

The "hamstring” designation for Sanders is new. He was previously listed out due to "leg soreness” on Sunday.

Epps is newly missing practice.

LIMITED PARTICIPATION: Le’Raven Clark (hamstring), John Hightower (groin), Jimmy Moreland (ankle), Boston Scott (concussion).

Clark and Scott both practiced in a limited capacity after missing several days.

RETURNED TO PRACTICE: Britain Covey was full go after being limited on Sunday. Andre Dillard was also full go despite leaving practice slightly early on Sunday.

INJURED IN PRACTICE: James Bradberry went to the trainer’s tent early in practice and did not return to drills. He did watch the rest of practice from the sideline, which is a better sign than him disappearing into the NovaCare Complex. But Bradberry might not be available for the Cleveland practices. To be determined.

• ROSTER MOVES: The Eagles waived/injured three players following Tuesday’s practice.

• Zach Pascal had a nice release that allowed him to cut inside for what looked like an all too easy touchdown reception from Gardner Minshew. Pascal is going to be a factor in the red zone.

• Deon Cain had a couple good grabs today. One came on a weird anticipatory throw from Reid Sinnett that felt like it hung in the air forever (and perhaps got caught a bit in the wind?) before getting snagged by Cain. Cain also had a big boy leaping catch down the right sideline, kinda Mossing my guy Mac McCain. Cain did fail to come up with a back shoulder throw in the end zone, though it looked like the ball placement could’ve been a bit better. Cain finds himself in a numbers crunch when it comes to making the 53-player roster but he could be a quality practice squad option to keep around. Provides more depth at WR.

• Active day for Britain Covey; he had several grabs over the middle. And two that went for touchdowns in a red zone drill. The first came when Sinnett hit him on a slant. The next was when he broke on a short curl.

• It’s hard to say Kenneth Gainwell looks like a player who has made a leap from Year 1 to Year 2. He had an opportunity to make a back shoulder catch during a red zone drill but couldn’t bring it in. It wouldn’t have been an easy grab ... but he’s supposed to provide value as a pass-catching back so it would be nice to see him make those plays more than never. Later, Gainwell dropped a Hurts ball right to him in the flat.

• Jalen Reagor made a good diving grab on a tight window throw from Minshew. Only went for a short gain but probably not a play he makes last year.

• Speaking of Minshew, one of his best days of camp. Nice to see him turn things around a bit since the first preseason game.

• Noah Togiai had a contender for play of the day when he Moss’d Andre Chachere in the back of the end zone for a touchdown grab. Minshew threw the ball high enough to where only the tight end could make a play on it. After the play, the second team offense made a big effort to celebrate his score. Togiai is catching everything thrown his way and basically doing as much as he can to earn a roster spot. Do the Eagles keep him over Grant Calcaterra? They might lean towards sticking with their sixth-round pick from the 2022 NFL Draft. But Calcaterra has missed a lot of practice time now while Togiai has done well for himself. And it’s not like there’s a HUGE age difference here with Togiai entering his age 25 season while Calcaterra will be playing his age 24 season as a rookie.

• Zech McPhearson got hit with a pass interference penalty during red zone 7-on-7.

• With Bradberry missing time, Josh Jobe took first team reps at cornerback across from Darius Slay.

• With Epps out, the Eagles mixed the trio of K’Von Wallace, Josiah Scott, and Reed Blankenship in at first team safety. No Jaquiski Tartt ... not looking good for him. Blankenship picked off Sinnett (Reed on Reid crime, as BGN alumnus Mike Kaye said on the sideline next to me today) during an 11-on-11 sequence. The Eagles might just have to keep Blankenship on the roster.

• No practice for new Eagles defensive back Ugo Amadi, whom the team acquired in the JJAW trade. Amadi is wearing No. 32 ... same number as Jason Huntley. Uh oh. Not a good sign for my guy.

• Eagles Super Bowl LII champion Torrey Smith attended today’s practice.

UP NEXT: No more Eagles training camp practices at the NovaCare Complex this summer.

The team is traveling to Cleveland on Wednesday for joint training camp practices that’ll take place on Thursday and Friday (2:00 PM Eastern start times). Then the Eagles will play the Browns in a rare preseason game that kicks off at 1:00 PM ET on a Sunday.

I’ll be covering the practices in Cleveland (read: Berea, Ohio). Let me know if you have any good recommendations! Mostly looking for food spots but open to other suggestions.

https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2022/8/16/23308396/eagles-training-camp-practice-notes-jalen-hurts-a-j-brown-play-day-devonta-smith-noah-togiai-covey