13 observations from the final Eagles training camp practice of 2018

Today marked the 15th and FINAL day of 2018 Philadelphia Eagles training camp. The Eagles had a 10-10-10 day so practice was lighter than usual. Here’s what I observed.

• Daily Carson Wentz update: Today marked the 12th practice in a row with Wentz not participating in 11-on-11. The Eagles really only do 11-on-11 during 10-10-10 days so Wentz didn’t do much besides some rehab work off to the side on a separate field.

• Injury updates: In addition to the guys on the NFI/PUP lists, the following players missed practice: Nelson Agholor, Corey Clement, Mack Hollins, Donnel Pumphrey, Markus Wheaton, Josh Adams, Chandon Sullivan, Asantay Brown. Pederson said that both Agholor and Clement are dealing with lower body issues. The Eagles seem to be playing it safe with them so that they’ll be ready for Week 1. No word on what’s wrong with Hollins. Pump continues to lose ground in the battle for the fourth running back battle. Speaking of, Adams said he doesn’t expect to be out for much longer. Sullivan was out after getting banged up in Monday’s practice. Brown has been out for a good amount of time now. In other news, Jalen Mills seemed to leave practice early. No word on why. Rasul Douglas was on the ground for a bit after colliding with LaRoy Reynolds but he eventually returned to practice.

• Christian Hackenberg practiced for the first time since signing with the Eagles on Sunday. And boy was he terrible! Hack’s first throw was picked off down the field by Rasul Douglas. Hack’s second attempt was intended for Darren Sproles in the flat. Kamu Grugier-Hill jumped the route, though, for a pick six. Hackenberg only threw six passes and two of them were interceptions. He could’ve had a deep touchdown if he didn’t overthrow a wide open Josh Perkins. Hack’s best throw was down the field to Matt Jones, who couldn’t track the ball. A predictably rough start for the new Eagles quarterback.

• Avonte Maddox took first team nickel cornerback reps for the THIRD day in a row. That brings the standings to six days of Sidney Jones, five days of De’Vante Bausby, three days of Maddox, and one day of Jalen Mills. The rookie corner is building some late momentum in this position battle. It looks like he might get the start against the Patriots.

• Mike Wallace continues to shine. The 32-year-old burned Douglas deep down the field for a 40-yard completion. Nice throw from Nick Foles. There’s no question Wallace can be a vertical threat for the Eagles.

• D.J. Killings had a real nice pick on a Foles throw to Zach Ertz. He covered the route perfectly and made a play on the ball.

• Darren Sproles shook Sidney Jones out of his shoes (figuratively) on a bubble screen to the running back. Note that Jones was lining up at first team corner with Maddox in the slot and Mills having left practice early. Jones did have a nice pass breakup on a bad throw by Foles to Bryce Treggs, who was running a slant.

• Nigel Bradham reminded us that’s he really good in coverage by staying with Wendell Smallwood on a wheel route about 35 yards down the field. He broke up the pass while trailing closely behind the running back. Impressive. Hardly a play that just any linebacker can make.

• Rashard Davis (5-9) beat De’Vante Bausby (6-2) on a deep jump ball touchdown throw from Joe Callahan. Not a good look for Big Baus.

• Wendell Smallwood dropped a short pass thrown right to him.

• Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Graham were getting some rehab work in on a separate field during practice. Haven’t really noticed either of them do much of that throughout camp. Could be a positive sign.

• Punter update: Cameron Johnston seemed to do a decent job of pinning punts in the 20 during a special teams drill.

• Veteran tight end Richard Rodgers was working on his long snapping prior to practice. Eagles long snapper Rick Lovato was giving him some pointers. This is the kind of riveting stuff you get on the last day of camp.

• 14th observation I originally forgot to include: Nate Sudfeld threw a beauty of a pass to Billy Brown up the seam. The tight end made a sweet one-handed catch while in stride.

• Shout out to ESPN’s Tim McManus for bringing in a box of donuts to the media house today. Strong way to end camp. I went with the glazed chocolate donut that had chocolate ganache on top. My second favorite behind Boston creme.

• Let’s take a moment to recognize the hard work of the BGN staff for their excellent camp coverage. Benjamin Solak deserves a shout out here for a job well done covering his first Eagles training camp as a credentialed media member. He got off to a rough start (his phone battery died on the first day) but he rebounded well. Very proud of him. Also very grateful to have the great Alexis Chassen around for training camp press conference recaps. Tyler Jackson has done a nice job with bringing camp coverage to BGN’s social media channels. Trey Madara reached out to BGN to shoot photos for us this summer (make sure you check out his galley here). Hopefully he’ll be doing more with us in the future. And thanks to the rest of the great BGN crew for holding down the site while I’ve been away at practice during the day. You folks are awesome.

• Lastly, I wanted to take the time to thank all of you for reading my training camp notes this summer. BGN isn’t just my job; it’s my life. The community here is incredible and I wouldn’t be so #blessed to have this opportunity if it wasn’t for you. Your support means a lot, especially during the rough times I’ve being going through lately. From the bottom of my heart: THANK YOU.

• Watch Carson Wentz’s press conference below (or click here):

Watch Doug Pederson’s press conference below (or click here):

Watch Nick Foles’ press conference below (or click here):

UP NEXT: The Eagles will hold a mock game walk-through tomorrow on Wednesday (closed to media and fans) before traveling up to Foxborough, Massachusetts for a Super Bowl “rematch” against the New England Patriots on Thursday evening. Reminder: the Eagles beat the Patriots earlier this year in the Super Bowl. As always, stay tuned to Bleeding Green Nation.