Eagles-Browns Joint Practice Recap: Did Howie Roseman Make a Mistake at CB2?

The Philadelphia Eagles wrapped up their joint practice session with the Cleveland Browns on Thursday. Despite being the defending Super Bowl champions, Philadelphia reportedly had another inconsistent showing against Cleveland at the NovaCare Complex for the second consecutive day.

The Eagles were without several key players for Thursday’s practice, as A.J. Brown continues to deal with a hamstring injury, Landon Dickerson underwent a minor procedure on his knee and Lane Johnson received a rest day.

Saquon Barkley was a limited participant due to also receiving a rest day. While Zack Baun was limited as he continues to manage a back contusion.

After reportedly barely “winning” day one of the joint practice session with the Browns, Philadelphia took another step back on Thursday. Overall, it seems like the Eagles had a rather uninspiring performance overall against Cleveland this week.

Now both teams will shift their attention to Saturday’s preseason game, as the Eagles will look for redemption at Lincoln Financial Field. Here’s more on what happened and the biggest takeaways from this week’s joint practice session.

Did Howie Roseman Make a Mistake at CB2?

The truth is that the Eagles are three weeks into training camp and still don’t have a concrete answer at CB2. While Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean enjoyed stellar rookie years, it remains to be seen who will be starting alongside them in Philadelphia’s nickel defense.

It felt like a mistake when Eagles general manager Howie Roseman allowed Isaiah Rodgers to leave after signing a two-year, $11 million deal with the Minnesota Vikings. Rodgers stepped up in relief of Darius Slay several times last season and played at a relatively high level. Yet the Eagles let him walk and wanted to see what Kelee Ringo had to offer.

Now fast forward to the middle of August and Ringo has failed to consistently impress thus far. It felt like Ringo was setup to win a relatively easy CB2 competition against Adoree’ Jackson, yet the 29-year-old veteran appears to currently be in the lead for the starting job.

The CB2 competition has been rather uninspiring thus far, especially as the group continued to struggle against Cleveland’s underwhelming group of WRs. It felt like a big opportunity for Ringo, Jackson and newly acquired Jakorian Bennett to impress and they failed to do so.

Now rookie Mac McWilliams is reportedly taking more reps at outside CB and has seemingly entered the competition. What started as a two-horse race between Ringo and Jackson has now expanded to include four different competitors.

While many expected the picture at CB2 to become clearer with each passing day at training camp, it has seemingly been quite the opposite. If Roseman simply elected to re-sign Rodgers in free agency, Philadelphia could have avoided this uninspiring competition altogether.

Tyler Steen, Jihaad Campbell Continue To Impress

While Ringo has failed to seperate himself from the competition at CB2, Tyler Steen has cemented himself as Philadelphia’s starting right guard. Steen has garnered rave reviews from his fellow offensive linemen, as well as rising star IDL Jalen Carter.

Steen continued his strong level of play against the Browns, as he reportedly handled Cleveland’s first-round pick IDL Mason Graham during one-on-one drills. After failing to win the starting job at right guard in each of the last two years, the Eagles appear to be very happy with Steen’s play in year three.

Eagles first-round pick LB Jihaad Campbell has reportedly continued to impress as well. After surpassing everyone’s expectations and returning to the practice field early, Campbell was flying all over the field during his preseason debut.

After a strong performance against the Cincinnati Bengals, Campbell made a few standout plays against the Browns during joint practice. According to EJ Smith of PHLY Sports, Campbell had multiple impressive stops against the run as he continues to showcase his elite combination of speed and power.

Myles Garrett Dominates Philadelphia’s OL

Former Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett was the talk of the joint practice session. After getting the best of Eagles All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson on Wednesday, Garrett reportedly did the same against Jordan Mailata on Thursday.

Garrett is an absolute freak of nature that had his way with Philadelphia’s offensive line during both one-on-one and team drills. It’s hard to get discouraged by Garret’s strong performance given his Hall of Fame resume.

Following the first joint practice session, Fran Duffy of PHLY Sports mentioned that there was a line of 15 or so Eagles players waiting to talk to Garrett. Both Jalyx Hunt and Campbell made sure to have a conversation with Garrett, who could certainly give them a few pointers to improve their game.

Johnny Wilson Builds on Strong Preseason Performance

After attending Eagles practice last week, it was hard to feel encouraged about Johnny Wilson in year two. He dropped several passes, including a concerning drop during individual drills against air. Yet he bounced back with an impressive performance during Philadelphia’s preseason opener.

Wilson continued to build on that performance by making several plays against Cleveland’s defense. He reportedly won several jump-ball battles, including a notable target from Jalen Hurts.

While Wilson’s stock appeared to be plummeting a few weeks ago, he now appears to be a lock to make Philadelphia’s final roster. If Wilson continues to impress as a pass catcher, he could become more than just a blocker and special teams contributor in year two.