6 Winners, 3 Losers From Day 12 of Eagles Training Camp: Major Step for Makai Lemon

A short practice took place on Day 12 of Philadelphia Eagles training camp. In case you haven't heard, the Eagles have their biggest week of the summer coming up.

This was the final practice before the joint practice with the New England Patriots in Foxborough this week. Those joint practices will be a litmus test for the Eagles prior to roster cutdown day and the start of the regular season.

We'll see how good the Eagles are this week, as the joint practices have taken over as the dress rehearsal for the regular season. The Eagles starters will play the Patriots starters -- best on best.

Before the joint practice, the Eagles had one session at the Jefferson Health Training Complex before heading to Foxborough. Here were the winners and losers on Day 12 of camp.

Winners

Makai Lemon: After nearly two weeks of missing practice with a hamstring injury, Lemon is very close to returning. He worked with the wide receivers at the end of the practice and caught passes from the JUGS machine prior to the session. The first-round pick is getting close to coming back, and may be available for the joint practices this week.

Cole Wisniewski: The seventh-round pick is alive after all, practicing for the first time since July after missing over two weeks with a hamstring injury. Wisniewski even had a few reps with the first team at safety, so the Eagles are trying to accelerate him a bit. There's still an open roster spot at safety, assuming the Eagles keep four safeties. Wisniewski has 12 days to make an impression.

Michael Carter: Give Carter a lot of credit for continuing to show up in camp. Getting some reps in the slot on Monday, Carter picked off a deep Jalen Hurts pass intended for Quez Watkins, taking the ball away form the speedy wideout. Carter seems to make a play nearly every practice, and is still in the competition for starting safety -- even though Marcus Epps is still the front runner.

Moro Ojomo: Even in a light practice, Ojomo finds ways to make plays. He had a sack and a tackle for loss in the team portion of practice, continuing to create pressure up the middle. Ojomo has had a strong summer and is primed to have a big year. Thanks to Ojomo, the Eagles may have the best defensive tackle trio in the league.

Hollywood Brown: Outside of the contract and guaranteed salary owed to Brown, he showed why he should remain on the Eagles roster in Monday's practice. Brown beat Tariq Woolen on a quick catch in the flat and generated yards after the catch, turning a small gain into a big play. This is what the Eagles are hoping from Brown if he can create separation, which hasn't happened much this summer. Perhaps Brown is starting to turn things around.

DeVonta Smith: He's back! Smith was a limited participant in practice after missing two weeks with a hamstring injury. Smith has been willing to return for a few days, and the Eagles are getting him ready for the joint practices later this week. Let's see how this passing attack works when the WR1 comes back.

Losers

Andy Dalton: The second team didn't have as many reps in practice, but Dalton didn't show much when he entered. Dalton is missing passes and has been out of rhythm for much of the past week, allowing Tanner McKee to get back into the QB2 competition. The problem? McKee isn't seizing the opportunity.

Tanner McKee: As mentioned above, McKee just can't seem to gain any ground on Dalton. His throws have been all over the place and he doesn't seem to have a firm grasp of the offense. All McKee has to do is play decent and he takes this job from Dalton, but he's struggling to do that. He'll have another opportunity in the joint practices this week.

Dameon Pierce: The biggest challenger to Will Shipley for the RB3 job is still out with a hamstring injury, which is a setback considering he missed Week 1 of the preseason. While Shipley took advantage of the playing time, Pierce has bene sitting on the sidelines. This hamstring injury may cost Pierce a shot at making the roster.

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