Eagles Practice Notes: Carson Wentz and Josh McCown turn in good showings against Ravens defense

Today marked the eighteenth and final 2019 Philadelphia Eagles training camp practice open to the media. It was also the team’s second of two joint practices against the Baltimore Ravens. Read on to see what I observed!

PRACTICE NOTES

• CARSON WENTZ UPDATE: The Ravens’ defense made life tough on Wentz yesterday but today it was Wentz who excelled.

Wentz dropped a dime to Alshon Jefery in the back right corner of the end zone during 7-on-7 for a touchdown. Wentz made a nice downfield throw to a leaping Joshua Perkins in 11-on-11 but the tight end lost control while going to the ground. Wentz hit Mack Hollins in stride deep down the field but the ball bounced off the receiver’s hands. It’s too bad Wentz’s targets couldn’t live up to their end of the bargain. Wentz hit DeSean Jackson — who actually caught the ball — on a comeback for a 20-yard gain.

Wentz hasn’t made a habit of taking off running during practice sessions but he did do it once against the Ravens today.

• EAGLES INJURY UPDATE: Andre Dillard and Nate Herbig were back at practice after both leaving early on Monday. Seemed to be heat exhaustion.

Joshua Perkins left practice early today with what looked like heat exhaustion before later returning.

Charles Johnson is still out with an ankle injury.

DeAndre Thompkins wasn’t practicing.

Asantay Brown angrily ripped off his chin strap as he walked off the field early in practice. Probably not a great sign for him.

NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Derrick Gunn gave some discouraging updates on Richard Rodgers, who got carted off on Monday.

• JOSH MCCOWN UPDATE: McCown took the most reps he’s had since signing with the Eagles over the weekend. The 40-year-old looked pretty sharp. There was a series where he completed three straight noteworthy passes. 1) McCown fired a ball to a diving Alex Ellis for a chunk gain. Ellis was tightly defended but McCown put it to where only the tight end could make a play on the ball. Great throw and catch. 2) McCown came right back with another impressive throw to JJ Arcega-Whiteside. 3) McCown hit Corey Clement on a swing pass for a nice gain. Good to see McCown already looking comfortable in the offense.

• As I already mentioned, Hollins dropped a nice deep pass attempt from Wentz. That’s the second time in three days that’s happened. On the bright side, Hollins is showing he can get open down the field. On the dark side, catch the friggin ball already. I still think Hollins makes the team despite his struggles. He did have a good day on Monday, in fairness. And he did make a solid reception on a comeback route today.

• Hollins was hardly the only receiver with a bad drop. Marken Michel failed to bring in a ball throw at him on a slant. Carlton Agudosi dropped a pass over the middle.

• JJ Arcega-Whiteside almost made a sick-handed catch in the back right corner of the end zone. He couldn’t quite hold on and he might not have had both feet down ... but he made the play closer than some other receivers would’ve.

• For the second day in a row, Clayton Thorson threw a perfect fade touchdown pass. This time it was Agudosi on the reception. Perkins got flagged for lining up incorrectly on the play. Thorson did have a throw intended for Hollins in the back middle of the end zone knocked down. So, hardly perfect, but great to see some progress.

• The Eagles’ defense was having some trouble covering tight ends in the red zone. Lamar Jackson and Trace McSorley both threw touchdown passes down there. Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod were walking off the field talking to each other, looked like some communication issues.

• The Eagles’ defense did do a relatively good job of containing the Ravens’ offense when they were to a 11-on-11 scrimmage situaton (no live tackling, still). Then again, it’s not like the Ravens’ offensive style is necessarily conducive to excelling in practice.

• Avonte Maddox almost picked off Lamar Jackson after first tipping the quarterback’s downfield throw. Malcolm Jenkins also had a chance to pick off Jackson but didn’t catch the ball.

• Ronald Darby had good coverage on a downfield Jackson throw that ultimately went out of bounds. Darby’s effort earned some high fives from teammates. Good to see Darby running well like that as he comes off his ACL injury.

• What you’re about to read really happened: Vinny Curry intercepted a pass! The veteran defensive end dropped back into coverage as Jenkins came in on a blitz and Jackson threw it to where Curry could pick him off. Working on his hands was worth it.

• It didn’t seem like the Eagles’ ground game was having a ton of success against the Ravens’ stout defense.

• For the Penn State fans who might care: tough day out there for Trace McSorley. He threw interceptions to Tre Sullivan, Jeremiah McKinnon, and Ajene Harris all on one drive.

• There were a couple heated moments at today’s hot practice but no real serious fights. Just some shoving and a small scrum featuring some bottom of the roster players.

UP NEXT

Training camp is over! Thanks so much for following along with our daily coverage here at BGN and BGN Radio. Your support truly means a lot to us.

The Eagles will have a walk-through tomorrow on Wednesday prior to their home preseason game against the Ravens on Thursday evening. Kickoff is set for 7:30 PM Eastern. As always, stay tuned to BGN for more coverage.