FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – It was 10:44 AM and the Eagles emerged from the lower practice field to head to their sideline for the start of the competitive periods of Thursday's joint practice and the boos rained down on the Eagles, donning white jerseys and white pants. The fans' energy was palpable adding juice to an already heated practice between two playoff teams from the previous season.
But, as running back Saquon Barkley noted after practice, the mission on Thursday was to get in good work, improve from what the film showed Wednesday, and take steps toward becoming a better football team with the start of the regular season inching closer and closer.
"You go out, you feel the atmosphere and the energy and all that. That lasts for such a little time," Barkley said. "It really goes back to the little things, who has the better fundamentals? Who's detailed? Who's locked in? Who's doing the right things? That's going to win football games."
Practice Observations
WR vs. DB 1-on-1s and 2-on-2s
• There are two fields at the Patriots' practice facility side by side and it just so happens that the New England wide receivers battle the Eagles' defensive backs on the field right in front of the bleachers packed with fans (some Midnight and Kelly Green in the crowd over the past two days). And in the battle of great vs. great to open the competitive portion of practice, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye threw the ball in the back, left corner of the end zone, looking to connect with wide receiver A.J. Brown as Thursday's practice focused on the red zone. However, for the second day in a row, All-Pro cornerback Quinyon Mitchell refused to allow Brown to open practice with a bang. Mitchell took away the slant route, stuck to Brown as he went to the corner, and forced the completion to happen after Brown was out of bounds.
• Cornerback Riq Woolen set the tone for an impressive performance Thursday with a pair of wins in the 1-on-1 battles, first forcing wide receiver Kayshon Boutte out of bounds before the ball could be secured. Then, in the right corner of the end zone, Woolen later read wide receiver Romeo Doubs' hands and knocked the ball away, getting the pass breakup.
• Mitchell also had a win against Boutte in this period, forcing an incompletion.
• Cornerback Michael Carter had a couple of wins in this period. The versatile nickel and safety wasn't rattled by a hard thump to try and create separation in his first 1-on-1 rep, earning the pass breakup. Later, in the 2-on-2 session, Carter racked up another pass breakup on a pass attempt to wide receiver DeMario Douglas. Carter then didn't get a pass breakup, but teamed with cornerback Ambry Thomas and Maye had nowhere to throw the ball to, so he never attempted the pass.
In addition to his hybrid role, Carter served as the dime package linebacker during practice on Wednesday.
"He's been great. I think he's been making plays almost every day of camp," defensive back Cooper DeJean said of Carter. "And he's been fun to watch and learn off of each other, which has been great. Anytime you got two guys making the same move and playing the same two positions, you can always ask questions and learn from each other. So it's been fun to go through that process with him."
Opening Team Periods
• The first two team periods stationed the offense just outside the red zone and then in the low red zone area.
• The offense had some great success during these sessions. Quarterback Jalen Hurts found tight end Dallas Goedert on an in-cutting route for a touchdown in the middle of the field for an easy score.
• Quarterback Tanner McKee had a terrific sequence, finding tight end Cameron Latu open on the right side, then on the next play throwing a neat sideline route to wide receiver Erik Ezukanma. On the play after that, McKee backed away from some pressure and completed a throw to tight end Eli Stowers for a score.
• The Eagles' run defense, minus All-Pro tackle Jalen Carter who was excused from practice Thursday for personal reasons, was stout once again as tackles Jordan Davis and Moro Ojomo combined on an early stop to clog the gaps and give the Patriots' backs no room to run.
• Linebacker Jeremiah Trotter put his versatility on display, first using his instincts to sniff out a run and fill the gap to make the stop. Then, two plays later, Trotter came up with a pass breakup in the end zone on one of the more impressive defensive plays of the morning.
• Linebacker Jalyx Hunt made THE defensive play of the day later at the end of practice, but a close runner-up was when he stripped the ballcarrier and recovered the fumble.
• The Georgia boys Smael Mondon at linebacker and Davis at defensive tackle each batted a pass at the line of scrimmage.
• Linebacker Zack Baun's range in something to behold. Baun came from distance to make a stop in the flat on one play and then broke up a Maye pass at the goal line.
• Outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie flashed with several quality pass rushes to generate pressure on the day.
• Woolen broke up a pass for Doubs in almost the same spot in the back of the end zone where he did during 1-on-1s earlier. Woolen did one better with an interception of a Maye attempt to Brown in front of the pylon on the right side of the field. With nothing but green in front of him, Woolen took the ball 99 yards to the house!
"He's been making steps and strides each day," Goedert said of Stowers "He had a couple, a big play yesterday, which was exciting to see. It's just your rookie year, everything gets thrown at you fast. Defenses are different than they were in college, so it's really good to see how he's progressing. You always want to see improvements, and he's been doing that."
• Hurts came back in the period with some designed quarterback draws and had room to run.
• Hurts also went to wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks, running a route from the left side of the formation on a post to the right side, for a wide-open score in the red zone work.
Move the Ball Period
• On the second snap, Hurts faked a handoff to Saquon Barkley and then threw over the middle for Wicks, who made the catch for a nice gain and completion.
• McKee had a strong morning and in this period he found tight end E.J. Jenkins over the middle for the big pickup.
• The Patriots' offense tried a trick play with a screen pass to the right side of the field followed by a pass back across the formation. However, the second pass bounced well in front of the target and had to be jumped on just to retain possession.
• Ojomo and Nolan Smith combined for a sack of Maye during this session.
• Several people had to look at the roster to see who it was when No. 49 for the Eagles forced an incompletion along the left sideline. It was newly added cornerback Isaiah Bolden, who was a seventh-round pick of the Patriots in 2023 out of Jackson State.
Two-Minute Drill
• The No. 1 offense scored a touchdown with this sequence – completion from Hurts to Goedert, completion from Hurts to Wicks on an out route that stopped the clock (the teams started with 45 seconds on the clock, no timeouts remaining on the opponent's 25-yard line). Then Hurts went to Hollywood Brown in the back of the end zone and he made a spectacular catch, but the officials ruled that Brown's feet were out of bounds. No matter. Hurts went right back to Brown, running a crossing route in the back of the end zone for the touchdown on the very next step. Audible "E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!" chants erupted from the crowd.
• Earlier, it was noted how outside linebacker Jalyx Hunt made an outstanding strip and fumble recovery, only to out-do the play with one of the best overall plays of Eagles Training Camp 2026! Maye threw the ball to Brown and Woolen, continuing his outstanding day, was able to pop the ball up into the air as the two were going to the ground. Hunt flew over and dove, getting his hands under the ball to cleanly come up with the interception. Remember, Hunt was the first player in Eagles history to lead the team in both sacks and interceptions in the same season last year.
• When the top defense returned to action for another series under the same conditions, the Patriots did score the touchdown, but not before Woolen had tight coverage on Doubs in the back right corner of the end zone to force an incompletion (not it's not a typo that it happened again) and Mitchell did the same to former Eagle Mack Hollins in the back left corner of the end zone. On the game-tying two-point conversion attempt, Woolen saved the day shadowing Brown across the end zone, forcing the incompletion.
Injury Update
The following Eagles did not practice on Thursday: cornerback Jakorian Bennett (knee), tight end Grant Calcaterra (back), defensive tackle Jalen Carter (personal reasons/excused), cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields (heel), cornerback Jonathan Jones (shoulder), wide receiver Elijah Moore (neck), offensive lineman John Ojukwu (pectoral), running back Dameon Pierce (hamstring), wide receiver Johnny Wilson (knee), and defensive tackle Byron Young (shoulder).
The following Eagles were limited on Thursday: outside linebacker Keyshawn James-Newby (ankle), wide receiver Makai Lemon (hamstring), wide receiver DeVonta Smith (hamstring), and cornerback Shaun Wade (eye/shoulder).
