The Eagles are facing some challenges at the end of training camp

Admit it. You’re still watching Super Bowl 59 highlights, aren’t you?

You’re still re-living last winter’s incredible run through the postseason — the wild card win over the Packers, Saquon’s romp through the snow and Jalen Carter’s game-saving sack against the Rams, the annihilation of the Commanders in the NFC Championship Game and then, the coup de gras, the complete and total destruction of Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid and Travis Kelce in the Super Bowl.

Sometimes, it still feels like a dream.

Seven months later, the 2025 Eagles are wrapping up training camp and preparing for their third and final preseason game. Everyone on last year’s roster insists they’ve turned the page and are mentally ready to ramp things up again in two weeks against the Cowboys and Lincoln Financial Field. To what degree that’s true, we’ll never know, but it’s fair to say that, despite a number of departures on defense this off-season, Philadelphia is still home to one of the very best rosters in the NFL.

But after a quiet summer, not everything has gone perfectly for the Eagles as they prepare to defend their title. Nothing catastrophic has occurred and there is no reason for great alarm, but it would be foolish to not take stock of how the last few weeks have transpired and acknowledge the challenges this team faces as they finish up the off-season.

Perhaps there’s reason for a little concern that the Eagles aren’t going to get off to the kind of start we all assume and hope they will.

You cannot plan for injuries and, so far, the Birds are dealing with their fair share of nagging, non-serious-yet-notable bumps and bruises.

• Landon Dickerson is week-to-week after a meniscus procedure that could sideline him for the first week or two of the regular season.
• A.J. Brown is dealing with a hamstring injury that has kept him out of practice for most of the last few weeks.
• DeVonta Smith has a sore groin and did not practice on Tuesday and Wednesday.
• Jordan Mailata had to miss practice this week due to a concussion he suffered a few days ago.
• Backup QB Tanner McKee hurt his finger on his throwing hand. Luckily, it won’t require surgery.
• Rookie safety Andrew Mukuba, who looked very good in the Eagles’ second pre-season game against Cleveland, left Tuesday’s practice with a leg injury.
• Wide receiver Johnny Wilson, who has having a great camp, also left practice after getting his leg rolled up on.

In the first two preseason games, the back-up players have not looked great. While most are not expected to play a ton of snaps, it is important to have quality depth, especially along the offensive and defensive lines. If Mailata, Dickerson or Lane Johnson were to miss time this year, there’s some concern about how their replacements would perform. Kenyon Green has also not shown the kind of improvement Mekhi Becton showed a year ago enrolled at Stoutland U.

Now, every team has the same concerns about losing their starters. There’s a reason they are back-ups. That said, Brett Toth and Matt Pryor have struggled against the Eagles’ D-line in practice as well as against the Browns in their joint practices last week.

What about the secondary? A season ago, the Eagles’ incredible down-field zone coverage was the best in football and the driving force between the team’s No. 1 overall ranking. But with Darius Slay gone, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is still trying to figure out who his No. 2 corner is going to be. It’s a bit concerning that none of Kelee Ringo, Adoree’ Jackson or fifth-round rookie Mac McWilliams has emerged as a clear front-runner. GM Howie Roseman traded for Las Vegas’ Jakorian Bennett to potentially provide another option, but it would be quite something if an unproven player acquired from another franchise a week ago ended up being the Week 1 starter.

Not ideal.

At safety, Mukuba seemed to be making a late charge to replace Chauncy Gardner-Johnson as the starting safety next to Reed Blankenship, but as of this writing, it’s unknown the degree to which he was hurt on Tuesday. Sydney Brown could take over the job, but if Fangio truly liked him in that role, he’s already have locked the job down.

Neither situation inspires confidence.

Fangio’s defense isn’t going to be No. 1 again. It would be foolish to expect that. But with an unproven defensive line and some question marks in the secondary, there are more question marks remaining at this stage of the summer than we were anticipating.

Which brings us to Jalen Hurts.

The dude is awesome. He’s a top-five quarterback in the NFL. Training camp is nowhere close to the same thing as playing in games, and I am confident that, once the bell rings, Hurts will be in a good place. That said, the reports that Hurts has had an uneven camp causes a bit of unease, especially after seeing how a subpar camp leading up to the 2023 season manifested itself in the regular season. BLG noted a particularly rough day for the offense against the Browns during one of their joint practices last week, but it’s also fair to note he did not have Brown, Saquon Barkley, or a couple of his starting offensive linemen, who had difficulty handling Myles Garrett, who was in Hurts’ face all day. Hurts is simply a different player when he has his two best wideouts and a real running back playing with him.

And no, that doesn’t mean he’s simply a product of the talent around him. Any QB would struggle missing a handful of his best players. There’s also the uncertainty of new offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, who will be calling plays for the first time in his career this season. The last time the Eagles tried this, Brian Johnson, Sirianni and Hurts never got on the same page.

To be clear, no one should be overly concerned yet. Eagles’ team insider Matt Ryan noted Hurts was very sharp on Tuesday, while BLG and others report Hurts was on fire during Wednesday’s practice.

People should not be panicking. But we should prepare ourselves for the possibility that the Eagles aren’t going to just pick up where they left off last season. There may be more bumps in the road in 2025, and that’s to be expected. The Eagles can talk all they want about putting the Super Bowl behind them and focusing on this season, but they would only be human if their motivation is blunted a bit having achieved their ultimate goal just a few months ago.

None of this should be an excuse, though. The Eagles are talented and deep, and looking around the rest of the league, they should be the favorites to win it all again. They are building a potential dynasty, and every dynasty must deal with its own set of challenges.

The Birds have a few of those right now.