Eagles Training Camp Notebook: Rookie wideout finds his feet as camp comes to an end

And with that, Training Camp 2024 has come to a close. The Philadelphia Eagles hosted their final practice of the Summer today, ending 16 days of intensity. Here’s all you need to know from what was the Cherry on the metaphorical Training Camp cake.

Eagles Injury report

The good news is that the Eagles have come out of Camp relatively unscathed. There are still some minor setbacks of note, but there have been no IR placements or heartbreaking reports to come out of the City of Brotherly Love.

As far as the ones to keep an eye on: Eagles RG Tyler Steen is the obvious name following a flurry of missed practices. This hasn’t been he Summer he or the team had hoped for.

John Ross and Johnny Wilson could well be facing an early exit if Britain Covey, Ainias Smith, and Joseph Ngata can make the most of their practice reps, something Smith did very well at earlier today.

Saquon Barkley was also absent from Wednesday’s practice, although this was reportedly unrelated to yesterday’s knock and was more of a ‘load management’ strategy from the coaching staff.

Nobody’s perfect

‘Everything that has a beginning has an end, Neo.’

Jalen Hurts finally threw his first interception of Training Camp on Wednesday. It took until the final practice, but it was veteran CB Darius Slay who picked him off and ended a streak almost as fabled as The Undertaker’s.

It’s safe to say that Jalen Hurts was one of the big winners of Camp, as was his supporting cast of receivers. The imminent future in Philadelphia looks bright.

CB1 watch

It might be a while before Quinyon Mitchell becomes the teams’ CB1, but it looks like he’s being trusted more and more with an outside role. I don’t know if we’ll see much of him in the teams’ preseason finale against the Vikings, but Mitchell is definitely gaining confidence on the outside despite the coaching staff insisting on keeping things light. This can only mean good things for the Toledo product.

The Eagles have a 3-headed monster

While Will Shipley has dominated headlines in the backfield this Summer, it was nice to see some praise for Kenny Gainwell. Now in his contract year, Gainwell needed a strong finish to Training Camp to avoid being displaced by the Clemson Rookie. Even if that does happen, the Eagles have a very strong committee behind arguably one of the most dominant backs in the league – Saquon Barkley. The ceiling is high for this group.

Ainias Smith steps up

After a slow start to camp, it looks like things are finally falling into place for rookie wideout Ainias Smith. The Texas A&M product looked solid against the Patriots and has put together a string of good practices now. Parlay that with the absences of John Ross, Johnny Wilson, and formerly Parris Campbell, and that might just be enough to put him back in the pecking order.

While Training Camp might be finished, our coverage isn’t. We’ll have plenty of analysis in the coming days breaking down all the risers and fallers from this Summer’s action!

Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports