August 19, 2026
Bill Streicher/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Vic Fangio is happy to have his defense seeing new looks and plays this week up in New England.
Vic Fangio answered questions from the media Wednesday morning in Foxboro to lead off what's become a highly anticipated set of joint practices between his Eagles and the New England Patriots.
Turns out the always blunt defensive coordinator was looking forward to them for a while, too.
"I love doing these things," Fangio said. "I think these things are great. I wish we would do another one. It's great to go against a new team, new schemes, new players. You learn things. You're gonna get unscouted looks and plays, and see how people react. These things are tremendous. Can't get enough of it."
Especially given that joint practices' value to the Eagles as a whole is at an all-time high, considering that they've almost entirely shied away from playing starters in the preseason through head coach Nick Sirianni's tenure.
So if the Eagles' first teams on offense and defense can't get their reps through those exhibitions, with the next set for Saturday night, then they have to over the next couple of days with the more controllable, focused, and frankly what have become the much more preferred joint practice method as a result.
And for Fangio's defense, those reps will go up against a Patriots offense led by Josh McDaniels and now boasting former Eagles star A.J Brown that should be able to test them, with one more notable wrinkle Fangio was sure to highlight.
"I don't know exactly what they'll show us," Fangio said. "Last year they played a fullback a lot. So they're one of those teams that still plays a fullback. We haven't seen any of that, so that'll be good to see. They're a little bit more spread out. Our offense is more condensed, so that will be good."
"Everything's valuable," Fangio added. "It's going to be great to go against new stuff."
With a ton of intrigue, both for the Patriots fans nearby in Foxboro and the wave of Eagles fans who appeared to make the trip up to New England for the next couple of days.
The A.J. Brown trade fallout is the clear sore spot and the biggest storyline between both sides. The deal between the two teams had been telegraphed for months during the offseason, and while Brown was a crucial piece to two Super Bowl appearances and one dominant Super Bowl title win in 2024, the drawn-out process to get him traded after more than a year of rumors of a soured relationship with quarterback Jalen Hurts and then the organization overall went on to sour Brown's own perception in Philadelphia a bit on the way out.
So Patriots fans want to see Brown one-up the Eagles because they believe he's that last piece of a top receiver they need to win a Super Bowl, while Eagles fans want to see their team out to prove that they're still very much a contender, and at this point, better off without him.
The immediate returns from Wednesday morning, as far as a camp practice can tell on that, is an incomplete pass for Brown with Eagles All-Pro cornerback Quinyon Mitchell draped on him in coverage during the morning's 1-on-1 drills (via AllPHLY's EJ Smith):
A.J. Brown go ball versus Quinyon Mitchell falls incomplete.
— EJ Smith (@EJSmith94) August 19, 2026
Tons of energy and intensity from the first snap of one-on-ones: pic.twitter.com/XBO3lYf0pE
Fangio isn't blind to that.
He joked about whether Brown was even practicing Wednesday as he spoke to the press, but then knowing that the Eagles just ended practice early from a camp fight that spilled over amongst themselves last week, the veteran defensive coordinator shifted his tone and got serious.
"We don't want 'em," Fangio said of any potential bouts. "We don't tolerate it. The way I explain it to the players every time we do one of these, you know, you have 90 teammates in camp. Now you got 180 teammates. We're just working against each other, OK? They're in a different jersey, a different helmet. We're not here to fight. We're here to get better as an individual and a team, and hopefully we'll all treat it that way."
Fangio and the Eagles are still waiting on Jonathan Greenard.
The edge rusher, who the Eagles traded with Minnesota for back in April, strained his pec while lifting and opened training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list (PUP).
Fangio said Greenard would be down "for another couple weeks, at least," when the defensive coordinator last gave an update last week, and it sounded like a long couple of weeks.
On Wednesday, what Fangio had to say about Greenard sounded more uncertain.
"Yeah, I don't know when Greenard will be back," he said. "That injury he got in our weight room is gonna take some time to heal."
Fangio went on to say that he's happy with what he's seen out of Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith as the Eagles' immediate edge rushing options, and said Arnold Ebiketie and "the other guys are coming along."
"But we need our third and fourth until Greenard gets back to really solidify their positions," he continued.
Free-agent depth signing A.J. Epenesa had some impressive flashes in the Eagles' preseason opener last weekend against the Ravens, Fangio noted, so the defense isn't totally inflexible at the edge.
Still, the Eagles not only traded for Greenard, but then signed him to a four-year, $98 million deal.
They expected to have him as a core part of their pass rush, and now they don't know when he'll actually be on the field for them.
Right away, it's a setback.
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