Eagles Training Camp Is Here: Key Dates, What to Watch for

Everything you need to know as Eagles begin 2022 training camp originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

In the first year of the Nick Sirianni Era, the Eagles turned around a 2-5 start and became a playoff team.

They won’t sneak up on anyone in 2022.

After such a promising season a year ago, expectations have been raised. And it’s not always easy to live up to expectations.

All summer, we’ll be covering training camp with daily reports and frequent Eagle Eye podcasts.

Here are a few links (care of NBC Sports Philadelphia) to get you ready for training camp:

• 10 offensive players to watch

• 10 defensive players to watch

• Pre-camp 53-man roster projection

• How will Eagles respond to expectations?

Here’s everything else you need to know about this year’s training camp:

Key dates

July 26 — Eagles report to training camp

July 27 — First training camp practice, 10 a.m.
(Scheduled practices so far: 7/27, 7/29-30, 8/1-2, 8/4, 8/6-7, 8/9-10)

Aug. 7 — Public practice at Lincoln Financial Field, 7 p.m.

Aug. 12 — Preseason game No. 1 vs. Jets, 7:30 p.m.

Aug. 16 — Roster must be cut from 90 to 85 by 4 p.m.

Aug. 18-19 — Joint practices vs. Browns in Berea, Ohio

Aug. 21 — Preseason game No. 2 at Browns, 1 p.m.

Aug. 23 — Roster must be cut from 85 to 80 by 4 p.m.

Aug. 24-25 — Joint practices vs. Dolphins in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Aug. 27 — Preseason game No. 3 at Dolphins, 7 p.m.

Aug. 30 — Roster must be cut from 80 to 53 by 4 p.m.

Sept. 11 — Regular season opener in Detroit, 1 p.m.

Attending training camp

If you miss Lehigh, you’re not alone.

The Eagles have just one practice this summer open to the public and it’s at 7 p.m. on Aug. 7. Tickets to attend this practice are $10 and there’s also a $25 VIP option that gives fans a “special on-field experience” before the practice session. All proceeds from this practice will benefit the Eagles Autism Foundation. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com.

All fans over the age of 2 will be required to have a ticket for the public practice. All seats are first-come, first-serve and parking will be free. The rest of their practices will be at the NovaCare Complex in South Philadelphia and will not be open to the public.

If you happen to be in Miami Gardens in late August, both joint practice sessions against the Dolphins on Aug. 24 and Aug. 25 (both at 10 a.m.) will be open to the public. Fans who wish to attend those practice need tickets, but they’re free here.

Key storylines

Higher expectations

This time last year, the Eagles were coming off a four-win season, they had a first-year head coach, a first-year starting quarterback and expectations weren’t very high. But after a 2-5 start to the 2021 season, the Eagles turned things around, won nine games and got into the playoffs.

After an impressive offseason from Howie Roseman, who put together a very strong roster on paper, the Eagles aren’t going to surprise anyone in 2022. They have been called one of the most improved teams in the NFL and have been rising on national power rankings. But it’s not always easy to live up to expectations and that’s the new challenge facing Sirianni’s team this summer.

The new guys

As great as Fletcher Cox and Jason Kelce have been for the Eagles, we’ve seen them practice for a decade-plus. It’s always more exciting to watch the new guys hit the practice field during training camp. Some of the biggest acquisitions this offseason: A.J. Brown, Haason Reddick, James Bradberry, Kyzir White, Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean and Cam Jurgens.

Of all those players, I’m most excited to watch Brown. He’s the biggest addition on the offensive side of the ball. On defense, I really want to watch Jordan Davis. We saw how athletic he was at Georgia and it’ll be fun to watch the first-round pick move around this summer because he’s huge and super athletic.

The battles

As always, training camp is a battle ground for players who are fighting to make the roster or fighting for roles on offense, defense and even special teams. A couple weeks ago, I took a closer look at five of these position battles. Here’s a brief summary, but also feel free to click the links for a deeper dive:

• Right guard: Former starting left guard Isaac Seumalo lost his job when rookie Landon Dickerson came in last year and ended up playing really well at the left guard spot. But the Eagles are giving the 28-year-old Seumalo the first crack at winning the right guard spot. It’s his to lose. The other players fighting for that job include Jack Driscoll and Sua Opeta.

• Linebacker: The Eagles come into this training camp with a refreshing problem: Too many good linebackers. T.J. Edwards played well last season but the Eagles added Kyzir White and Nakobe Dean to the defense and they still have Davion Taylor and even Shaun Bradley as their other off-ball linebackers. All five will likely make the roster but now it’s about figuring out how to divvy up roles and playing time.

• Cornerback: The Eagles' top trio of cornerbacks is pretty good: Darius Slay, James Bradberry and Avonte Maddox. But after that, they have nine young corners fighting for roster spots. It’s a very crowded position room and they can’t keep everyone.

• Receiver: Go ahead and pencil in A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins and Zach Pascal in that order. That leaves one or two spots for the following players: Jalen Reagor, Greg Ward Jr., John Hightower, Devon Allen, Britain Covey and more. Tough competition.

• Safety: The addition of Jaquiski Tartt makes this battle come to life. It’ll be Tartt, Anthony Harris and Marcus Epps fighting for roles in this defense. And perhaps a secondary battle between K’Von Wallace and Andre Chachere for a roster spot.

A whole new world

Training camps are different these days. In your mind, you might be thinking back to the days at Lehigh University with two-a-days and thousands of fans in attendance. It’s not that anymore. These are shorter practices designed to keep players healthy going into the season. And the importance of preseason games have largely been replaced by joint practices because they’re more controllable.

Still, it’s training camp. And that’s pretty darn exciting.

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