August 17, 2026
Bill Streicher/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Marcus Epps (above) is the favorite to win the Eagles' starting sub-package safety job, but Michael Carter is making a strong case for himself as well.
Day 12 of Philadelphia Eagles training camp fell in between the Birds' first preseason game on Saturday and joint practices with the New England Patriots, which will begin on Wednesday. So, it was a short practice, and it was in shells and shorts. Limited notes today, so let's just get right to them.
• A bunch of notable players returned practice:
Also, Makai Lemon was listed as a non-participant and was not in uniform, but he did participate in some drills, and it seems a return to the field is on the horizon.
• Michael Carter had a big day for the defense. He picked off Jalen Hurts deep down the middle of the field, beating Quez Watkins to the ball, and he also got home for a "sack" on a blitz. Marcus Epps is pretty clearly in the lead for the starting sub-package safety role opposite Andrew Mukuba, especially after he sat out the first preseason game with the cool kids, but Carter has played well this summer and is making a case for himself.
Carter is listed at 5'10, 184, so, you know, he's small. But he also ran a 4.36 40, and is one of the fastest safeties in the league, if that's what we're calling him. And you can see it on the field. He buzzes around out there.
To be determined if the Eagles will post another slow-mo video of Hurts' INT that will dominate the global news cycle again.
• Saquon Barkley is running a more extensive route tree in camp this year. In the past he's run some wheel routes, and otherwise been sort of a checkdown guy. This year he's out there running Texas routes and other stuff that works around the league.
Barkley isn't Todd Gurley or Christian McCaffrey in the passing game, but he should be more involved than he has been previously.
• OL-DL 1-on-1's weren't very spirited today. It looked a little like there wasn't maximum effort from the starters going against each other. But the backups did, and as usual, Willie Lampkin looked good, this time getting a win over Byron Young.
Spoiler: Lampkin is going to be on the team.
• Hollywood Brown hasn't had an impactful camp so far, but he showed a little juice today. He settled into a zone, turned, and caught a pass, then shook Riq Woolen for some additional yards. A common thing that showed up on Brown's tape when we evaluated him this offseason is his ability to often make the first guy miss after the catch. He is known for his long speed, but he has short area quickness too.
• There were a couple of nice pass breakups today, by Quinyon Mitchell vs. Dontayvion Wicks, and by Jihaad Campbell vs. Dallas Goedert. I'm not sure if Campbell got a hand on the football, but he caused the incompletion.
• The following clip is from the first preseason game on Saturday, but I hadn't seen it until after I published my postgame articles. I think it's worth showing. It's Eli Stowers hesitating to hit someone on a block and instead getting pushed back into the hole where Tank Bigsby is bottled up. (Video via @fanalyzesports):
Oof. We know that Stowers is a work in progress as a blocker, but you'd certainly like to see more aggressiveness there.
• Practice notes should be much more plentiful after joint practices with the Patriots on Wednesday.
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