August 14, 2025
Colleen Claggett/for PhillyVoice
Running back Will Shipley's dependable hands were on display during Day 2 of Eagles-Browns joint practices.
Joint practices between the Eagles and Browns concluded Thursday, with both teams in full pads but for a shorter, lighter overall session that went just over an hour. Once again, the practices covered two fields, with Eagles offensive starters vs. Browns defensive starters on one and vice versa.
The temps were hot, and the intensity level on the field was also a notch higher than it typically is when the Eagles are practicing alone on a normal training camp day. On the last day of the two-day practices, there were no 1-on-1s or 7-on-7s as the Eagles and Browns got right to work, with drills mostly relegated to the red zone and half-field.
As always, we have game balls for the practice standouts, and for the first time since camp opened, a game ball had to go to someone who doesn't play for the Birds.
For reasons that will be covered later, Jalen Hurts needed to get the ball out quickly and efficiently against Jim Schwartz's gap-shooting defensive front. The best way to do that was finding his running backs in the flat, which he did often, even consecutively within a period.
Shipley and Dillon were on the receiving end of plenty of those passes, and both showed good hands and the ability to tuck the ball and turn for extra yards. Even fullback Ben VanSumeren made an appearance in the pass game, holding onto a quick throw from Hurts in the right flat while absorbing a hit from safety Grant Delpit, one of the few actual hard hits in the session.
The Eagles also worked their traditional variety of inside zone runs, so Shipley and Dillon got plenty of work as ball carriers. Side note: Kudos to Shipley for not losing his temper when Browns DE Cam Thomas came over way late at the end of a run – when literally everyone else was going back to the sideline – to bat the ball out of Shipley's hands and then taunt him.
So, about that quick-passing Eagles offense...It could've been because the Browns' star pass rusher was in the backfield so often that I was pretty sure he should've been wearing an Eagles jersey.
Like the All-Pro that he is, Garrett gave plenty of good work to left tackle Jordan Mailata and, at a few points, it appeared Garrett was inches away from Hurts on nearly every snap. Plenty of Hurts-to-[insert receiver's name here] connections throughout the morning would never have actually happened if you could sack the QB.
But also, no need to worry. In a real game, the Eagles could do a variety of things schematically to help Mailata, including helping with a tight end, a chip block from a running back, or just not passing the ball six or seven straight times. In this case, it's just Mailata vs. Garrett every single snap.
So no need to worry about Mailata or the state of the Eagles' offensive line. Just some good work against the best edge defender in the sport.
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