Eagles Practice Notes: Carson Wentz starts slow but finishes strong

The Philadelphia Eagles began their first day of mandatory minicamp practice on Tuesday. The session was open to media and I was there to watch it. Remember that these are still non-contact drills at this point. Players aren't allowed to wear pads yet. There's only so much to be gleaned from players running around in shorts, so take these observations for what they're worth. Here are my practice notes.

• Attendance update: The only three players not at practice were the three rookies who are not allowed to attend due to NCAA rules: Isaac Seumalo, Byron Marshall, and Aziz Shittu.

• Injury update: Rueben Randle and Jordan Hicks both took limited reps in team drills. The Eagles are also bringing back Nolan Carroll and JaCorey Shepherd slowly as well.

• Fletcher Cox and Darren Sproles attended practice for the first time this spring, as expected. Prior to practice, Doug Pederson said they would be limited in drills. Sproles did a lot of team work, however, and I didn't see Cox do any. Pederson explained in his press conference that the Eagles don't want to risk injury to their Cox.

• SAM BRADFORD looked good in practice on Friday last week. He had another nice outing today. The first team quarterback hit Jordan Matthews over the middle of the field with a laser after executing a play fake. He also connected with Josh Huff on a deep bomb down the field. Malcolm Jenkins was trailing in coverage. I didn't see many big mistakes from Bradford other than a play where he rushed a throw off his back foot and overthrew a running back in the flat. He sailed the attempt out of bounds.

• CHASE DANIEL was solid and steady yet again. I basically write that same thing after practice every day, but it's true. The veteran made some nice throws today. He hit a tightly covered Xavier Rush along the sideline by putting the pass where only the receiver could get it. Daniel would have had a nice deep completion along the sideline but Josh Huff dropped it. Rookie safety Blake Countess managed to catch the tipped ball thanks to a diving effort, but he was likely out of bounds.

• CARSON WENTZ had a rough start to practice but he finished the day strong. Wentz made his worst throw of the spring when he targeted Hunter Sharp deep in the end zone. The ball come out wobbly and hung in the air forever. Easy interception for Chris Maragos. Yuck.

Wentz almost got picked off a second time when he threw deep to T.J. Graham. The ball was overthrown but it was much closer to being caught by Denzel Rice than it was Graham.

Wentz had another bad throw where he threw too low. The receiver was able to make the catch but it was tightly contested and Quentin Gause ripped the ball out and gain possessed instantly. Good play by the rookie linebacker.

Wentz did manage to connect with Sharp on a deep ball at one point. Wentz hasn't been perfect when throwing deep this spring but he's had some real impressive moments.

There were two Wentz throws near the end of practice that really stood out. The first was one where he scooped up a poorly snapped ball that was rolling around on the ground and instantly got it out for a quick strike across the middle. I don't know he managed to get that off so quickly and accurately. The second throw was when Wentz hit M.J. MacFarland over the middle with a back shoulder throw. The linebacker never even saw it coming.

• The Eagles have run some designed running plays for Wentz. He's fast so it works.

• Nelson Agholor dropped two passes. Not his best day.

• Eric Rowe lost outside contain on a nice Kenjon Barner run. Defensive backs coach Cory Undlin was not happy. "Wake the f*** up, Eric!"

• Marcus Smith showed up in practice. He batted one of Daniel's passes down at the line of scrimmage. That's at least the second time I've seen Smith do that this spring. THE BREAKOUT IS NIGH! (Maybe not.)

• Fourth string tight end Chris Pantale continues to get looks at first team fullback. He might have a shot to make the team if he proves he can also contribute on special teams.

• KICKER BATTLE UPDATE: Caleb Sturgis outkicked Cody Parkey once again. Sturgis and Parkey both attempted kicks from 33, 38, 43, and 48. They were all good except Parkey's last attempt from 48. That one bounced off the left upright. Sturgis has been better than Parkey this spring.

• Some notable people at Eagles practice today: Jeffrey Lurie, Howie Roseman, Eagles senior football advisor Tom Donahoe, NFL draft analyst Mike Mayock, former Eagles head coach Dick Vermeil, and Greg Cosell of NFL Films.

Up next: The Eagles practice again tomorrow starting at 1:20 PM ET. Same schedule as today.

Remaining offseason workout schedule:

Mandatory Minicamp: June 8-9.

BGN Coverage: The following remaining practices are open to the media: June 8-9.