PHILADELPHIA \u2014 Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni sat down for their opening news conference about 20 minutes before the Philadelphia Eagles\u2019 first practice. They were quickly peppered with a question about Jalen Carter\u2019s new contract.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo welcome back? No, \u2018Hey guys, how\u2019s it going? How was your summer?\u2019\u201d Roseman said. \u201cWe got football back in Philadelphia! It\u2019s a beautiful thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yes, football is back in Philadelphia. The start of a six-month journey (and beyond, if the season goes according to plan) began at the team facility Wednesday morning. The emphasis in Sirianni\u2019s opening team meeting was about \u201cbeing together and being aligned,\u201d according to quarterback Jalen Hurts.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne hundred percent alignment, zero percent entitlement,\u201d said Hurts, revealing his notes.<\/p>\n
Here are 10 things we learned and observed on Day 1:<\/p>\n
1. Jonathan Greenard opened training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Greenard<\/a>, the team\u2019s marquee offseason acquisition, suffered a strained pectoral muscle lifting weights before camp. The team does not expect it to be a long-term absence.<\/p>\n Eagles mostly healthy as they start practice<\/p>\n Zach Berman<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things that we know about Greenard is he\u2019s going to be ready to play,\u201d Roseman said. \u201cTraining camp\u2019s so important, practice is so important, but when you have a guy like that who prepares the way he does, who has the experience in the NFL the way he does, you know he\u2019s going to be ready to play when we start the season. We want to be smart with all our guys and get them ready, but at the same time acknowledge the process that they have to take to make sure that they are 100 percent when they come back. This is not a long-term injury. This is nothing we\u2019re concerned about.\u201d<\/p>\n By opening training camp on the PUP list, the Eagles preserve the option for Greenard to open the season on the PUP list if the injury lingers longer than anticipated. Greenard was a spectator at practice.<\/p>\n 2. The big news this week remains Carter\u2019s record-setting $152 million contract extension<\/a> that made him the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history. When asked if the record amount was important to him, Carter said it was important to stay with the Eagles. He accomplished both.<\/p>\n Roseman said the Eagles entered the offseason hoping to sign Carter to an extension. They hoped to sign him in March or April, but the defensive tackle market was in flux. Roseman mentioned the new deals for Dexter Lawrence in Cincinnati and Jeffery Simmons in Tennessee. Roseman said there was no hesitation about off-field concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what off-field concerns,\u201d Roseman said. \u201cSince Jalen\u2019s been here, he\u2019s put his head down, he\u2019s worked hard and he\u2019s made huge impact plays for this organization, for this team. Last year, he wasn\u2019t 100 percent. He tried to fight through that and play through that. We understand that. Like anyone, when you\u2019re 25 years old, you\u2019re still growing as a person and as a player.\u201d<\/p>\n 3. The major emphasis from both Roseman and Carter\u2019s teammates was that this contract was offered for expected future performance \u2014 not for the level that Carter has reached to date.<\/p>\n \u201cYou guys don\u2019t understand how scary he can actually be,\u201d Saquon Barkley said. \u201cThere\u2019s another level he can take it to. I look forward to watching that.\u201d<\/p>\n Jordan Davis, a close friend of Carter\u2019s since they were teammates at Georgia, attended Carter\u2019s news conference to show support. He noted how Carter has learned \u201chow to be a professional\u201d with the Eagles.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m working every day to make myself better in every way \u2014 technique or team chemistry, everything,\u201d Carter said.<\/p>\n Carter said the money won\u2019t change him, noting he already signed a lucrative contract when he was a top-10 pick. But his teammates still had fun with him over the record deal.<\/p>\n Hurts\u2019 wife packed a $5 bill in his backpack. (Hurts said it\u2019s an inside joke.) Hurts smacked the bill on Carter\u2019s chest.<\/p>\n \u201cLet me put five on top of that!\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Carter carried the bill around the facility. He joked that he asked to get it signed by teammates and raise its value to $500.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a great competitor, great player, disrupting practice out there today,\u201d Hurts said.<\/p>\n On that note, let\u2019s get to practice.<\/p>\n How Carter’s teammates reacted to his record contract extension<\/p>\n Zach Berman<\/p>\n 4. The first practice continued to reveal how much different the offense will look this season. Hurts was under center for the majority of team drills \u2014 and under-center play-action was heavily featured during Wednesday\u2019s session.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s an extension of what I\u2019ve done already in that department,\u201d Hurts said. \u201cIt\u2019s been an area of my game that I\u2019ve always had. We just haven\u2019t done it a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n The skill players were in motion. Hurts targeted the middle of the field on multiple attempts, including deep passes to DeVonta Smith and Darius Cooper. (More below.) He also managed to convert some of the \u201clayups\u201d on quick passes to the flat.<\/p>\n There was some sloppiness from the offense with pre-snap penalties, but that\u2019s not too alarming in July. Smith still lamented them after practice. The big-picture question entering camp was how the offense would look. Time will tell if it\u2019s effective. After the first practice, it\u2019s fair to say it\u2019s different.<\/p>\n 5. Greenard\u2019s injury might have been the headline, but it should not obscure the fact that the Eagles are much healthier entering training camp this year than they were last season. Greenard was the only player on the 90-man roster absent at practice. Key players who missed the spring, including linebacker Jihaad Campbell and first-round pick Makai Lemon, were full participants in the first session. Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens, who both dealt with injuries last summer, practiced without issue.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, you saw the PUP list, and then everybody else will be going,\u201d Sirianni said before practice. \u201cI can\u2019t say enough [about] what happened at our conditioning test yesterday. You just saw the complete focus of everybody, and you can\u2019t cheat the conditioning test. You can\u2019t cram for it in one week. The whole team was just so locked in, focused; it seemed easy for them. I know that test is hard. We\u2019ve done that test plenty in these last five years. They came back in great shape, (Dickerson and Jurgens) included, crushed it, and (were) excited to get out there and work.\u201d<\/p>\n 6. Depth chart updates \u2026<\/p>\n \u2013 The Eagles opened practice in base defense with Cooper DeJean at safety. When they went to nickel, Marcus Epps took the first reps at safety next to Andrew Mukuba. Michael Carter II also mixed in at safety with the first-team defense.<\/p>\n \u2013 The offense started in 12 personnel with Johnny Mundt as the No. 2 tight end. Dontayvion Wicks was the second wide receiver with Smith in that package. Lemon and Hollywood Brown also worked with the first-team offense at wide receiver.<\/p>\n \u2013 Campbell started at linebacker next to Zack Baun.<\/p>\n \u2013 With Greenard sidelined, the two edge rushers with the top unit were Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith Jr. There were no clues about who has the edge between them.<\/p>\n \u2013 Tanner McKee and Andy Dalton split reps at second-team quarterback. McKee took the first snaps with the second team, but they both worked with that group.<\/p>\n \u2013 Veteran guard Michael Jordan and veteran defensive end A.J. Epenesa both played with their second-team units after signing with the Eagles following minicamp. This was their first session with the Eagles.<\/p>\n \u2013 Fred Johnson played left tackle and Markel Bell played right tackle with the second-team offensive line. Jordan and Drew Kendall were the guards, with Jake Majors at center.<\/p>\n 7. The most memorable play of the practice was a deep ball from Hurts to Smith down the seam with All-Pro Quinyon Mitchell in coverage. Hurts pinpointed the ball; Smith created enough space to make the catch.<\/p>\n \u201cJust trying to get the timing down,\u201d Smith said. \u201cGood play call, good look. Executed.\u201d<\/p>\n Feels good to be seeing this again \ud83e\udd0c pic.twitter.com\/GdCUhyA6CP<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) July 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The most impressive play? That might have been a leaping grab from Cooper on a pass from Hurts with DeJean in coverage. It was noteworthy that this and the completion to Smith were both in the middle of the field.<\/p>\n 8. Two buzzworthy players who stood out in practice: Hunt and running back Tank Bigsby. Hunt forced pressure against the Eagles\u2019 first-team offensive line. Bigsby showed some juice catching the ball out of the backfield and could carve a role on offense.<\/p>\n 9. Roseman said communication with Brandon Graham \u201chas been consistent,\u201d although Roseman did not suggest there was a potential deal. Graham came out of retirement in midseason last year. The defensive end expressed interest in playing a 17th season with the Eagles, although he indicated in an NFL Network interview that he would like to participate in training camp this time around, if he returns.<\/p>\n \u201cBG was the first draft pick I ever made as GM,\u201d Roseman said. \u201cThose conversations, obviously between us and every player, we\u2019re going to keep between us and the player. I want to be consistent with whoever that is that we do that. But obviously, you\u2019re talking about one of the greatest Eagles players and an unbelievable person. Last year, his ability to come back in and help us was huge for our football team. But again, those conversations we\u2019ll keep private.\u201d<\/p>\n 10. No surprise, but in some ways, NFL players are just like us. There was considerable excitement about LeBron James coming to Philadelphia<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat about LeBron being in town?\u201d Davis asked before his news conference.<\/p>\n Both Hurts and Barkley commented on how meaningful it is for the Philadelphia sports culture that James chose the 76ers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s huge for the city of Philadelphia,\u201d Hurts said. \u201cIt\u2019ll be exciting to have a figure like that in the city \u2014 what he\u2019s done, one of the greatest to ever do it. I\u2019m excited to be a part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n Roseman remarked that James can come to any practice he wants. The next practice is Thursday morning.<\/p>\n