CAMP NOTEBOOK: An Early Injury Bombshell, Who Impressed, and More

Javon Hargrave, Derek Barnett, and Jason Peters sat out the first day with pads, but it's Hargrave whose injury appears to be the most serious

PHILADELPHIA - It didn’t take very long for the first bombshell to land at Eagles training camp.

No more than 15 minutes into the team’s first full-padded practice on Monday, an injury report was released.

Javon Hargrave, the defensive tackle who was the team’s big free-agent signing this offseason, was listed as out for “multiple weeks” with an upper-body injury.

It is being reported by ESPN that it is a pec strain that won’t require surgery but the Eagles are taking every precaution they can in hopes that he will be ready for the season opener on Sept. 13.

“It just means right now we’ll be giving a bunch of guys some more reps,” said Cox. “‘Jay will be all right. Me and Malik will get some reps. It will give some other guys a chance to get reps, but we’ll be ready for Jay when he comes back.”

Hargrave tweeted: “Every time I hit the ground I bounce up like roundball.”

Everytime I hit the ground I bounce up like roundball 🔥

— Javon Hargrave (@Jay_MostWanted) August 17, 2020

That wasn’t the only bit of bad news.

Defensive end Derek Barnett, who has had trouble staying healthy the past two seasons, was listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

Others on the injury report were guard Jason Peters (lower body) and receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (lower body), both of whom were listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Linebacker Duke Riley was out with an illness.

Peters was on the field with his teammates. His place at right guard was filled by Matt Pryor.

Like Hargrave, the Eagles are likely being extra cautious to be sure they are 100 percent ready to start the season.

FIRST DAY

Monday’s practice was a 10/10/10, but this was the most intense and physical 10/10/10 practice any longtime sideline watcher (me) could remember.

“Guys in pads and everybody was trying to get their feet under them,” said Cox after the nearly 90-minute session. “Everything we do around here is competitive, so (head coach) Doug (Pederson) was making it competitive. That was a good thing for us, but it was a chance to get their feet under them and get the breathing right with the pads to prepare for what he has for us going forward.”

THE FIRST-ROUNDERS

That would be the two first-round picks of the past two years – receiver Jalen Reagor this past spring and left tackle, Andre Dillard, from 2019.

The hype around Dillard and his weight/strength gain is legit. He looked much bigger and more imposing.

There was a moment in camp, however, when Andre Dillard was removed from drills and replaced by Jordan Mailata at left tackle.

Dillard is reportedly coming off a minor injury and the team is being cautious with him.

As for Reagor, he looked as advertised – fast and shifty in space. You could see the Eagles making an effort to get the ball in his hands quickly and in space with a couple of completions right off the line of scrimmage, allowing him to do his thing.

Reagor also appeared to get the most reps during special team punt drills, with Greg Ward mixing in too.

“He is an explosive athlete,” said quarterback Carson Wentz. “You can see that with his route-running ability and his downfield presence … That’s one thing we haven’t been able to see, obviously, with practice going on and nothing live. I know what he brings as a threat to the defense. I know he’s picked up on things really well. He’s always listening, always curious about why we’re doing things a certain way.

“That’s one thing I look for as a veteran, to look for these young guys who truly want to learn, who want to grow and want to be great, and I see that in him, and I see an extremely bright future with him. I’m excited to help him become the player he can be.”

WHO STOOD OUT - OFFENSE

• Dallas Goedert was busy, and he looked ready to start the season. He made one of the best catches of the day when, during goal-line work, he tipped a high ball from Wentz in the back of the end zone to himself for a touchdown.

• Running back Elijah Holyfield looked fast on runs to the edge and on one play, after the whistle had blown, he continued running downfield when Darius Slay stepped in his path. Holyfield never backed off and plowed right into Slay with a nice thud-popping clap. Neither player went to the ground.

• Jalen Hurts made perhaps the best throw of the day when he launched a deep fade down the sideline to John Hightower, who made the grab with Rasul Douglas in coverage. Hightower ran into the end zone. On the previous play, Hurts made a nice run to his right, with a nice high-step for a gain of 10 yards or so.

• Running back Corey Clement looked bigger and faster if that’s possible. All the talk about him looking like the Corey from 2017 could be right on the money.

WHO STOOD OUT - DEFENSE

• Rookie sixth-round linebacker Shaun Bradley from Temple looked like he knows he belongs in the NFL. He knocked Goedert to the ground after Goedert had one catch on a short seam throw from Wentz then Bradley tackled Miles Sanders to the ground on one play, jumping on Sanders’ back after he had just crossed the line of scrimmage. Bradley also looked fast down the line on running plays and got in Wentz’s face up the middle on a passing play that forced Wentz to scoot from the pocket.

• Seventh-round pick Casey Toohill flashed with some speed around the edge when working against Mailata.

THE END

• The second-team offensive line looked like this: RT Jack Driscoll, right guard Nate Herbig, center Luke Juriga, left guard Sua Opeta, left tackle Mailata. Herbig also took reps at center and Casey Tucker worked in at right guard. Prince Tega Wanogho saw limited tackle reps.

• Linebacker Alex Singleton dropped an interception on a high throw from short range by Wentz to Goedert.

• Quez Watkins had two touchdowns during red zone drills, one from just inside the 20 and one from near the goal line. Wentz threw both of them. Wentz also had a TD throw to Sanders in goal-line team drills.

Get the latest Eagles news by joining the community. Click "Follow" at the top right of EagleMaven page. Mobile users click the notification bell. And please follow me on Twitter @kracze.