BALTIMORE – Linebacker Jihaad Campbell embraced the opportunity to start in Saturday's preseason opener against the Baltimore Ravens. The 2025 first-round pick had three tackles in limited action before heading to the sidelines.
"It was good to play tackle football. Haven't played in a while, obviously. It was cool to be out there in game-like situations and play ball with the guys, especially alongside Trot (Jeremiah Trotter, Jr.). It's always good to get those game-feeling reps right before the season," Campbell said after the game.
Campbell was the lone player on the Eagles' unofficial depth chart to play against the Ravens. Head Coach Nick Sirianni said that Campbell "didn't have as many reps last year, so we thought it was good for him to play." Campbell flashed with three tackles, two of them coming up and making the stop in coverage. The third tackle was a run stop where he patiently saw the play bouncing outside so he could use his speed to make the tackle.
The first live football action of the 2026 season is here for the Philadelphia Eagles as they travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens. Who will improve their case for a spot on the 53-man roster?
QB Cole Payton
RB Will Shipley
TE Grant Calcaterra
QB Jalen Hurts
DT Byron Young
TE Elie Stowers
OLB Jonathan Greenard
DT Jalen Carter
T Markel Bell
QB Andy Dalton
QB Andy Dalton
QB Cole Payton
LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
T John Ojukwu
QB Cole Payton
WR Britain Covey
LB Jihaad Campbell
CB Shaun Wade
P Braden Mann
TE E.J. Jenkins
Campbell knew that the Ravens weren't doing any exotic gameplanning for this exhibition affair, so he looked at it as a chance to focus on the fundamentals.
"Let me master the skills of how this is going to look during the season," Campbell said.
And what was the second-year linebacker's evaluation?
"It's a play-by-play type of thing. It takes everybody. It doesn't just take one person. It takes all 11 people to execute and do their jobs so the play looks clean," Campbell said. "Just getting my feet wet out there again and feeling that momentum, feeling those drives, feeling those series of just playing tackle football again, trusting my instincts and communicating with the team and really just being a leader."
The next step for Campbell and his teammates? Joint practices this week against the Patriots in New England.
"It's going to be amazing, man. Everybody is striving for more each and every day. I think it's going to be amazing to go up against another team, especially joint practice in another environment," Campbell said. "It's my first time going against another team in their environment."
