Browns Should Serve as Good Barometer for Eagles
The reigning, albeit mythical, joint-practice kingpins are no paper champions.
Over the next two weeks, Nick Sirianni's Eagles will test themselves against two talented rosters on the road in advance of preseason games in Cleveland and Miami.
In Sirianni's first go-around as head coach, Philadelphia got the best of both New England and the New York Jets over four sessions grabbing the tongue-in-cheek title of joint-practice champs.
First up is Berea, Ohio, the Browns, and the soap opera that is Deshaun Watson, a stark reminder that the Eagles probably dodged a bullet when the embattled signal caller refused to consider them as a potential destination.
“As far as going away, I think that’s good,” Sirianni said. “I felt last year that there was some good bonding and some good connecting going on in the hotel when we were against the Jets.”
News broke earlier this week that the NFLPA and the league are in negotiations for a settlement when it comes to a punishment for Watson over allegations of sexual misconduct during massage sessions.
Watson was suspended for six games by independent arbiter Sue Robinson and the league appealed, hoping for a lengthier ban and an additional monetary fine from Peter C. Harvey, who was designated by the league to rule on the appeal.
Harvey, the former New Jersey Attorney General, is believed to be holding his decision until a settlement is reached or talks break down.
Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski, the son of former Sixers GM Ed Stefanski and a St. Joe's Prep and Penn alum, is in a difficult spot, understanding he will have to get backup Jacoby Brissett ready to play at the start of the season.
Brissett is well known to Sirianni from the time the two were together in Indianapolis and Brissett took over as the starter for the Colts in 2019 after Andrew Luck's unexpected retirement.
The Eagles have no questions at QB with Jalen Hurts the entrenched starter.
If the past is indeed prologue it's very likely that Hurts and most of the other key starters will get their work done in the joint practice sessions before sitting out the preseason games.
“I don’t have to make that decision quite yet," said Sirianni. "... We are going to be in those joint practices and those will be two hard days of work, so if I feel like [the starters] have gotten enough in those joint practices, ... then I wouldn’t play them in those games."
Maybe the most intriguing matchup to watch could be the Browns' edge rushers - Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney - against the Eagles' tackle tandem of Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson. Garrett has been out recently, though, with an excused absence for personal reasons.
"It’s always a good experience to play against different people and learn how to adjust your technique because that’s how it goes during the season," Eagles left guard Landon Dickerson said. "You get into a game, and you think this guy is playing one way or another, and you realize ‘I gotta change up something a little bit.’ So it’s a great opportunity for not only me, but everybody, to kind of work on adapting in the situation."
Cleveland also has an excellent offensive line outside of center where they have already lost projected starter Nick Harris and backup Dawson Deaton. J.C. Tretter, who was the Browns' starter in the pivot, is considered one of the best in football but remains a free agent, something many tie to his position as NFLPA president.
Browns cornerback Denzel Ward was recently activated off the PUP list and should be a nice test for the Eagles' receivers, who get to see their own top-tier CBs, Darius Slay and James Bradberry, in practice every day.
Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and safeties Grant Delpit and John Johnson should also be good competition for Philadelphia tight end Dallas Goedert and the backs while the Eagles' run defense will be measured against one of the league's best backfield headlined by Nick Chubb and the disgruntled Kareem Hunt.
“I love the joint practices, to be honest," offensive coordinator Shane Steichen said. "It breaks up camp. Gives our guys another opponent, and it’s really all about competing. ... You get two practices, and obviously, they are in a controlled environment, but you know, you get that true competition, the situations you can set up with them, script it, and then sometimes you have the call-it periods."
Being in close proximity to the Cleveland organization is also interesting because the Browns' football operations are led by former Eagles VP of football operations Andrew Berry.
Berry also hired his replacement in Philadelphia, Catherine Raiche, as one of his key lieutenants, something when coupled with seeing each other up close this week, could make a potential trade between the two teams over the next few weeks at least in the realm of possibility.
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Sports. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talker Jody McDonald, every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com and JAKIBSports.com. You can reach John at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
