August 26, 2026
Colleen Claggett/for PhillyVoice
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles wrapped up training camp on Wednesday.
Day 17 of Philadelphia Eagles training camp is in the books. It was the last practice of camp before the final preseason game and 53-man cutdowns. It was a very light practice following the Eagles' open practice at the Linc, but as always, we have notes (though not so voluminous today).
• Makai Lemon had a few catches today. Nothing special. But again he was out there with the first-team offense. DeVonta Smith is going to be the Eagles' WR1 (duh). Dontayvion Wicks will be the WR2. Here's how I'd rank the odds of who will be the WR3 Week 1:
Today was sort of a half practice / half walkthrough. Lemon participated in the walkthrough with the Eagles' backups, so I would expect him to play in the final preseason game Friday night against the Bengals. It also looks like Tanner McKee will start at QB.
Lemon also got a fair amount of extra work after practice with Jalen Hurts, which I believe is noteworthy.
• Smith had a nice toe-tap catch for a TD in 7-on-7's. Since his return to the field, it has been clear that he is on one one level, and the rest of the Eagles' receivers are measures below him.
• Hurts successfully ran a QB draw from roughly the 10 yard line. Of course, that has been a staple in the Eagles' offense. It was a slam dunk play for the offense for a few years, but its effectiveness has waned as opposing defenses have been ready for it. I'd be curious to see if Sean Mannion can figure out a wrinkle off of the QB draw to take advantage of teams overplaying it, while also keeping them honest after putting in on tape.
• Andre' Sam got a hand on a pass from Andy Dalton to Darius Cooper, and the ball deflected up in the air to Michael Carter, who made the INT. That wasn't a special play by any stretch, but over the course of camp I really like what I have seen from Carter. I think he's better in coverage than Marcus Epps. Epps is probably a little more physical as a tackler against the run.
Before practice, Vic Fangio was asked if he was going to decide on a starting safety soon.
"It is close," he said. "Michael has been doing a good job back there. It's just all new to him and we need to get him more exposure, which is hard to do, but I do think Michael eventually can do it."
I would still say that Epps is the favorite, but personally, I think Carter is the better player. I actually think Carter's versatility could work against him in a camp battle for starting safety, because he can fill in at safety or slot corner, whereas Epps is a safety only.
• We haven't seen much of seventh-round rookie Keyshawn James-Newby because he missed most of camp with an ankle injury. He's now a full participant, and I thought he really showed some juice off the edge today. He exploded around John Ojukwu for a sack today, and just generally caught my attention with a great burst off the line of scrimmage at the snap.
I'm really curious to see James-Newby play in the final preseason game. He could be a guy who earns a roster spot out of nowhere.
• The special teams units worked on a missed field goal kick return play today. The guy back deep was Will Shipley. Did I mention that it was a light day without a lot of action?
• Hurts was asked about his interceptions in camp. I think he had like eight? Last summer he only had one. He gave a lengthy answer on that, via E.J. Smith of PHLY.
Jalen Hurts gave a lengthy answer on how he views interceptions in camp.
— EJ Smith (@EJSmith94) August 26, 2026
He said he’s tried to learn from every play as they install a new scheme and highlighted the “calibrating” that they’ve had to do the last few weeks.
“I think it’s been a good camp.” #Eagles pic.twitter.com/mPYB9LVWiF
"It's good for the defense, which is good for the team," he said. "He's learning a new offense. He's trying things, seeing what's available and what isn't available. I don't think that's going to carry over."
• Thanks for following along all summer!
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