August 26, 2026
Colleen Claggett/For PhillyVoice
Darius Cooper's opportunity might be limited now that both DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon are back.
Eagles training camp officially ended Wednesday, concluding with a 17th practice. As expected, less than 24 hours after Tuesday night's open practice at the Linc, Wednesday's session wasn't intense. Players wore shorts and shells, team periods were few and far between, and overall highlights were scarce.
But there were just enough drills for us to feature our final "Heroes and zeroes" story of this year's camp.
With the team in shorts and shells, the linemen on each side were giving half effort, so this category will go to the pass throws and pass catchers. The best catch was turned in by Stone Smartt, who made a fingertip grab around the left seam with Michael Carter II supplying pretty tight coverage.
Smartt, who has 38 career receptions in 53 games with the Jets and Chargers, is an interesting player to watch in light of the Eagles' tight end situation. He had five catches for 37 yards Saturday against the Patriots and should get plenty of snaps Friday night against the Bengals. He's a real long shot to make the 53, but could be valuable on the practice squad, especially if he can block a little.
Tanner McKee, working with the second team, whizzed a touchdown to Erik Ezukanma in the right side of the end zone on a quick out that just barely beat the coverage. If McKee didn't get the ball out quickly, and if Ezukanma didn't maintain his concentration as he immediately tucked the ball to avoid losing the handle, that might not have been a touchdown connection.
For the second straight practice, Darius Cooper had a bad drop. This time, Cooper couldn't corral a pretty good laser down the seam from Andy Dalton, and the ball bounced off his hands and right to Michael Carter II, who plucked it for an interception. The ball hit Cooper in stride; he should have easily made the catch.
At the open practice Tuesday night, Cooper had a similar drop on a well-placed ball. He's still had a very good camp and will make the 53, but with DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon both back and with Dontayvion Wicks clearly in the top three, Cooper won't have as many opportunities on offense.
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