June brings a first for the Eagles, at least for the Nick Sirianni version of the Eagles.
For the first time since Sirianni took over as head coach, the Eagles will hold a mandatory minicamp. For three days — June 4-6 — the entire Eagles team will be together for the first time for a whirlwind preview of what the 2024 NFL season will look like in this city.
Organized team activities are over for the year and, if the players association has its way, will be over for good. For the first time, every Eagles player is required to attend the final three practices before training camp begins later next month.
We’ve seen most of the players throughout OTAs but some players have been absent for varying reasons. Veterans like Lane Johnson and Davonta Smith have been home working out at their own pace. Some, like kicker Jake Elliott, have well-defined jobs that make them less critical to the team’s successes in the offseason.
Most of the players who weren’t on hand for the voluntary practices stayed away with the full knowledge and understanding of the team. One of those players, cornerback James Bradberry, was most likely held out in anticipation of not returning for the coming season.
Bradberry will most likely be released before the season if the team can’t find a suitable trade partner. Bradberry’s contract became more team-friendly once the calendar flipped to June.
Why is this all important?
Simple, the Eagles have two new coordinators in Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio. Plus, there are plenty of new additions that the Eagles will be counting on to erase the memories of December and January.
Newcomers like former Giants running back Saquon Barkley and Jets tackle Mekhi Becton will need to see what their new roles look like on the offense. Jets edge rusher Bryce Huff and draft picks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean will have to be integrated into Fangio’s defensive system.
While the Eagles don’t have much practice with mandatory minicamps, they have done the offseason really well in recent years.
The Eagles figure to have everybody on board. Their draft picks typically sign long before, or at least, early in training camp. Veteran holdouts are so rare that it’s hard to remember when it has happened before.
Eagles players come into the season mostly happy and eager to get the season started.
That’s not the case everywhere. It’s especially not the case with the Eagles’ most important rival.
Down in Dallas, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and linebacker Micah Parsons have been conspicuously absent from OTAs. Both star players have seen lesser players around the league cash in big paydays while the Cowboys run out the clock on their contracts.
Quarterback Dak Prescott is also heading into the final year of his contract with no indication that the team is working toward extending him. The longer the Cowboys wait, the higher the price tag will be.
There doesn’t seem to be any Plan B for the Cowboys. If Prescott steps into the free-agent market, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones could be left holding a bad hand against a quarterback holding three aces.
Meanwhile, the Eagles keep signing their young core to contract extensions before the rest of the NFL teams can blow up the pay scale. And when a player isn’t completely happy, like Haason Reddick was over the winter, the Eagles resolve the issue when it can help the team, and the player, as much as possible.
Back to early June, though, and the Eagles are right where they want to be.
Ready to get to work.