Eagles-Browns Joint Practice: 5 Storylines To Watch For

The Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns will gather at the NovaCare Complex for a joint practice on Wednesday and Thursday this week. It’ll mark the third time over the last four years that the Eagles and Browns have held a joint practice together ahead of the regular season.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is a Philadelphia native that has a strong relationship with Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni. It’s clear that both head coaches value the opportunity to work together and skipped the joint practice session in 2024 because they played each other during the regular season.

Now the Browns are back in the City of Brotherly Love as the Eagles will surely be happy to hit someone besides their own teammates during practice. Here are five storylines to watch for during the joint practice session this week.

Who Will Vic Fangio Start in the Secondary?

Despite being three weeks into training camp, the Eagles still have some unresolved position battles in the secondary. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has rotated different players in at both cornerback and safety in Philadelphia’s secondary.

With the Browns coming to town for joint practice, it would be nice if Fangio could finalize his starting unit. It appears as though Adoree’ Jackson currently has the edge over Kelee Ringo at CB2. Yet Jakorian Bennett’s arrival could make things interesting, especially if he sees some first-team reps against the Browns.

Sydney Brown is currently in the lead at safety, yet Drew Mukuba is healthy and received reps with the first-team defense during Philadelphia’s most recent practice. If Mukuba makes the most of his opportunities against the Browns, he could surpass Brown and become the starter at safety alongside Reed Blankenship.

Can Philadelphia’s OL Handle Cleveland’s DL?

While Philadelphia’s offensive line is put to the test regularly by Jalen Carter and others, Cleveland could provide a tough test. Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett is regarded as one of the best defensive players in the NFL and has had plenty of battles with both Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata.

Yet the Browns made a few notable additions along the defensive front that could also test Philadelphia’s offensive line. Mason Graham was selected with the fifth-overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and will provide a challenge for Cam Jurgens, Tyler Steen and Brett Toth, who will likely start in place of Landon Dickerson.

Cleveland also signed Maliek Collins and Joe Tyron-Shoyinka in free agency as well. With Dickerson out for the Eagles, it’ll be interesting to see how Philadelphia’s offensive line will handle the challenge of slowing down a promising defensive front, led my former Eagles defensive coordinator Jimmy Schwartz.

Top Two LBs in 2025 NFL Draft on Display

With Jalon Walker playing on the edge for the Atlanta Falcons, the top two linebackers selected in the 2025 NFL Draft will be on the field together at the NovaCare Complex. The Eagles selected Jihaad Campbell with the 31st overall pick and he has shown a ton of promise in the City of Brotherly Love thus far.

On day two of the 2025 NFL Draft, Cleveland didn’t wait long to select Carson Schwesinger with the 33rd overall pick. Schwesinger impressed in his preseason debut for the Browns, as he recorded six total tackles. Now it’ll be fun to see how each promising linebacker will perform at the NovaCare Complex this week.

Will a Third Edge Rusher Finally Emerge in Philadelphia?

Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt have cemented themselves as Philadelphia’s top edge rusher duo. Yet the picture beyond those two remains unclear for the Eagles. While Joshua Uche has shown flashes, he hasn’t necessarily locked up the job as Philadelphia’s third edge rusher quite yet.

Azeez Ojulari has been a disappointment thus far and could really benefit from a strong performance during the joint practice. It’ll also be fun to see Ogbo Okoronkwo against his former teammates with the Browns this week. Okoronkwo has exceeded my expectations thus far and he is surely pushing for a final roster spot.

While the Browns have a solid offensive line, it would be encouraging to see one of Philadelphia’s backup edge rushers separate themselves from the pack. Given his familiarity with Cleveland’s personnel, I could see Okoronkwo enjoying a big week against his former team.

QB Battles: What Could Have Been?

During the offseason, the Eagles traded Kenny Pickett to the Browns for Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a fifth-round pick. Now Pickett is battling for the starting job in Cleveland while dealing with a hamstring injury. Thompson-Robinson has surprised many in Philadelphia and is making a legitimate push for the QB3 job.

Yet there was another quarterback that was linked to both teams this offseason. It felt like there was legitimate buzz that the Eagles considered selecting Shedeur Sanders in the fifth-round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Yet Eagles general manager Howie Roseman let his former colleague, Browns general manager Andrew Berry, trade ahead of him to the 144th overall pick to select Sanders.

The Eagles then selected cornerback Mac McWilliams with the 145th overall pick. Now we’ll likely see Sanders throwing against McWilliams this week. In the sixth round, Philadelphia selected Kyle McCord, who has disappointed in the QB3 battle thus far. If Sanders plays well against the Eagles, it’ll be interesting to think about what he could have done as QB3 in Philadelphia.