The Eagles will return to the practice field this week as they begin organized team activities in 2024.
While the Eagles began their offseason training program on April 15 and are already headlining their rookie minicamp, the OTAs are the start of Phase 3 of the NFL’s offseason plan, which is dictated by the negotiating agreement collective agreement between the NFL and the NFLPA.
The Eagles are scheduled to have six OTA sessions: May 20, May 22-23, May 28-30, and May 31. And they will also hold a mandatory minicamp from June 4 to 6.
Here are some key stories from this spring:
More time in the field
Teams can hold up to 10 OTA practices in Phase 3 and the Eagles have elected to schedule six such practices again this year. But the big difference in this season’s spring schedule is the addition of a mandatory minicamp.
If the Eagles do indeed hold their mandatory minicamp in June, it will be their first under head coach Nick Sirianni. The rest of the offseason is completely voluntary, but players can be fined for skipping that minicamp.
Sirianni has said before that he is always evaluating practice habits and would be willing to change if he sees fit. After last season’s collapse and with two new coordinators, it makes sense for him to spend more time on the field this spring.
But before that mandatory camp, the Eagles have these six OTA sessions. As a reminder, Phase 3 will take place over the next four weeks. While live contact is not allowed, teams can do 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and even 11-on-11 drills.
Two new coordinators
After the epic collapse of 2023, the Eagles fired their offensive and defensive coordinators. While Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie clearly considered moving on from Sirianni, he chose to stay with the head coach and was impressed by Sirianni’s plan to replace the coordinators. The Eagles have since hired Vic Fangio and Kellen Moore to run their respective sides of the ball.
While the Eagles have been running the nuts and bolts of Fangio’s defense for several seasons, they now have the brains of that scheme. The 65-year-old Dunmore, Pennsylvania, native has said he hopes this will be the last stop on his professional coaching journey. Although many concepts will be similar, an installation still needs to be done and NFL veteran DC wants that time on the turf.
“You have to make do with what you have,” Fangio said of the limited schedule, “but I keep pushing for more.”
On offense, the Eagles hired Kellen Moore, who previously was offensive coordinator with the Chargers and Cowboys. As Moore, 35, runs the offense, he and Sirianni have talked about combining philosophies, schemes and even terminology. We won’t have a full idea of what this offense will look like until training camp, but we could start to get some clues in the spring.
Battles of position
Position battles will heat up a lot in training camp, but they will begin in OTAs. Here are a few to check out:
Cornerback: The Eagles have 14 cornerbacks on their roster. The only thing we know for sure is that Darius Slay is the starter. After that, first-round pick Quinyon Mitchell has a good chance to start in Week 1, but he has to prove it. There is a group of players fighting for a few spots after the roster is finalized and the Eagles have to decide what they are going to do with James Bradberry.
Right guard: Tyler Steen, last year’s third-round pick, is the favorite to win the Eagles’ right guard job. The Eagles are sliding Cam Jurgens to center and Steen is the top right-left guard, especially after Sua Opeta left in free agency. But the Eagles also added Matt Hennessy to back up the interior spots and the Eagles used a fifth-round pick on Michigan’s Trevor Keegan. There’s a good chance this won’t end up being a contest, but if Steen fails, that could change.
WR3: The Eagles have one of the best receiver duos in the NFL with AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith, but that WR3 spot is up for grabs. Quez Watkins, Julio Jones and Olamide Zaccheaus are gone and there is a new generation of players competing for that WR3 spot: veterans Parris Campbell and DeVante Parker, as well as Draft picks Ainias Smith and Johnny Wilson.
Tight end: Dallas Goedert returns as the Eagles’ top tight end in 2024, but Jack Stoll left in free agency. Therefore, there could be only two spots for five players: Grant Calcaterra, CJ Uzomah, Albert Okwuegbunam, EJ Jenkins and McCallan Castles.
Linebacker: The expectation is that Devin White and Nakobe Dean will be the Eagles’ starting linebackers. But White is coming off a disappointing season in Tampa and Dean is coming off an injury-plagued second NFL season. After them, the Eagles have Oren Burks, Ben VanSumeren, Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Zack Baun and Brandon Smith.
Welcome to Philadelphia
Although the veterans have been at the NovaCare Complex all spring, the OTAs are the first opportunity to see some of the veterans on the field. So all eyes will be on guys like Saquon Barkley, Bryce Huff, Devin White and more. It will also mark the return of CJ Gardner-Johnson after his only season with the Detroit Lions.
Subscribe to Eagle Eye wherever you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | YouTube Music | Spotify | Sewing machine | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube
Keynote USA
For the Latest Sports News, Follow @Keynote USA Sports on Twitter.