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Q&A with Eagles writer: Philly’s big changes, Kellen Moore’s new NFC East home and more

Olivia Reiner of The Philadelphia Inquirer discusses the Eagles’ offseason and how they plan to keep their contending window open.

Now that training camp is up and running, the Philadelphia Eagles are enduring a fair share of changes.

After going 1-6 in its final seven games of the 2023 season, Philadelphia hopes some alterations will keep its contending window from closing. Nick Sirianni is still in charge of the operation as head coach, but a familiar face in Kellen Moore has stepped in to run the offense. On the other side, the experienced Vic Fangio will run the defense.

What are the Eagles doing to adjust before the new campaign? We interviewed Olivia Reiner of The Philadelphia Inquirer to find out.

Here’s what Reiner had to say about Philadelphia’s offseason, edited for length and clarity:

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The team made a splashy move in signing running back Saquon Barkley this offseason. Aside from Barkley, which free-agent acquisition are you expecting to make a big impact?

Reiner: “Saquon is certainly the No. 1, the big story of the offseason in terms of the acquisitions. If we’re looking beyond Saquon, I think there’s going to be a real void left with Haason Reddick departing and his trade to the New York Jets. I think Eagles fans are going to quickly realize just what — he was a really impactful player during the very brief time that he was in Philadelphia. The Eagles have attempted to try to replace his presence in a way by signing Bryce Huff, also from the New York Jets. Huff had a really strong season last year with the Jets. What remains to be seen with Huff is whether or not he can be like an every-down pass rusher. Not necessarily an every-down pass rusher, but just an every-down player. He isn’t necessarily known for his play against the run with the Jets. He just simply wasn’t asked to play as much as he will be asked to play in Philadelphia, especially with Reddick no longer being here. So I think he is going to be a big factor in the defense and the pass rush’s success, whether or not he can evolve into that kind of player.

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“Vic Fangio, when asked about it earlier in training camp, he kind of said that Huff wasn’t there yet. But he thinks that he will get there. Obviously, it’s early and they haven’t played the game yet. But that being said, he’s certainly someone who I think I’ll have my eye on early on in the season as things start to come together for the team.”

What are you expecting from Barkley as he adjusts to his new surroundings?

Reiner: “I think there’s some big expectations for him, and, naturally that’s going to come when you sign a three-year, $37.75 million contract. Something that is out of the ordinary for Howie Roseman. But that being said, he’s certainly another weapon for Jalen Hurts to utilize in this offense, in addition to A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. So I think he will be used extensively, obviously on the ground, but also in the passing game as well. He offers that sort of versatility for the Eagles. I think the big thing for him is just a matter of whether or not he can stay healthy. He’s had some injury issues over the years and he’s 27 years old. Running backs statistically tend to decline as they kind of get into this age. Will he be able to buck that trend, continue to stay healthy and play a big role in this Eagles offense like they want him to? That’s going to be the big question. We’ll see how many games he ends up playing for. Obviously, the Eagles want to get as much return on their investment as they possibly can. So it’s imperative for him to stay healthy as he carves out a really big role in this Eagles offense.”

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The Eagles selected cornerback Quinyon Mitchell in the first round of this year’s draft. He’s already received some attention at camp. What are your expectations for him in Year 1?

Reiner: “I think one of the biggest storylines going into this camp aside from the new offense and Jalen Hurts, is the defense, particularly looking at that cornerback position and who is going to win the starting role on the outside opposite Darius Slay. So far, we haven’t seen Quinyon Mitchell get many starting reps on the outside in camp. We’re only five practices in, so there’s a lot of camp to go. Ultimately, down the line that will be his future home. He’s got the draft pedigree and the Eagles selected him to play on the outside. That’s where he played at Toledo. Clearly, the Eagles think that he can ultimately get there, but they’re not putting the pressure on him at this moment in time to immediately start there Week 1, if he’s not ready. We have seen more of Isaiah Rodgers, who the Eagles signed last year, formerly of the Indianapolis Colts who was suspended for a year for violating the league’s gambling policy. He’s taken plenty of snaps on the outside with the first team. We’ve also seen Kelee Ringo, a draft pick last year out of Georgia who kind of got some experience in that role late last season when James Bradberry was kind of declining toward the end of the season.

“It’s been, really, a battle between the two of them. That’s not to say Quinyon Mitchell won’t get there. He did, [Tuesday], get a good chunk of the starting reps in the slot, which is something new for him. Something that he didn’t do at Toledo, so he’s learning that as we speak. He’s looked good there, I think he’s looked good in his one-on-one reps, particularly against A.J. Brown. It’s certainly got to be a great learning experience for him to go up against one of the best receivers in the league in practice.”

When you look at this rookie class, who else can you see standing out early on?

Reiner: “Originally, we thought that Cooper DeJean, the second-round pick right after Mitchell, could have made a push for the starting role in the slot Week 1. He has been sidelined due to an injury, so he is out indefinitely for the next few weeks, I believe it’s a hamstring. That’s definitely a bummer for him, that’s not to say he still can’t push to have a role on the team come Week 1, but my guess is it probably won’t be a starting role. With DeJean kind of out of the picture right now, I’m kind of interested to see how some position battles shake out. I think the next player after him that could really carve out a role for himself, not necessarily a starting role by any means, is Will Shipley, the running back out of Clemson the Eagles drafted this year in the fourth round. He will be fighting for reps with Kenny Gainwell, who is the lone Eagles running back that is returning from last season’s roster.

“Obviously Gainwell has the experience and is more tenured than Shipley, but Shipley, they used a relatively high pick on him in the fourth round. He split some reps with Gainwell when Barkley was out of practice the other day due to a personal reason, so it was intriguing to see him in that role getting some of the reps with the starting offense. We’ve also seen him used as a kick returner, in addition to Isaiah Rodgers. The fact that he will have that special teams ability in addition to being able to contribute to the offense — truthfully, it would be a surprise if any of the draft picks didn’t make the roster — but he is certainly someone to watch in terms of just carving out a role, aside from Mitchell and DeJean.”

Some of the offseason chatter about the Eagles has centered on Kellen Moore’s fit with Jalen Hurts. What stands out to you about their dynamic?

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Reiner: “It’s hard to get a real sense of what that dynamic is exactly like at this point. Obviously, this is the biggest story of the season, at least in my eyes, or at least going into camp and heading into the first week of the season. How is Jalen Hurts going to look in this new offense under a new offensive coordinator with Nick Sirianni taking more of a backseat as the quote-unquote CEO coach? This is going to be Kellen Moore’s offense, Moore is going to be the one calling the plays. The big reason he was brought in this offseason was to revive this offense that got awfully stale at the end of last year. Jalen Hurts simply didn’t look, especially, as big a threat in the quarterback run game last year, either.

“So, how will Kellen Moore be able to tailor this offense to Jalen Hurts’ strengths and try to provide the spark that they had in the 2022 season that they seemingly lost in 2023? I think that is going to be the make or break for this team, going into the season. Hurts is used to having a new offensive coordinator. He’s had lots of new coordinators throughout this time in college, in the NFL. In the spring, he called the offense 95% new. So there’s obviously a lot for him to learn. In the spring, he looked a little bit shaky, but it’s the spring, it’s hard to put a lot of stock in that. I will say, in training camp, he looks really good so far. Really strong. The ball has seldom hit the ground, if at all. When it has hit the ground, it’s been because of a drop. He hasn’t thrown an interception yet. He hasn’t fumbled the ball yet. All good things to see from Jalen Hurts and we’ll see if he can carry this momentum that I think he’s building in training camp into the first week of the regular season.”

Where do you see this team finishing in the NFC East?

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Reiner: “I think — to me, it’s a real boom or bust type of situation. There’s so many changes from last year, there’s obviously a lot of carryover. We haven’t even talked about Jason Kelce [not being] here this year. It’s the first time in what, like, 12 years he isn’t going to be the Eagles’ center? It’s gonna be a big adjustment for the offense to not have him. I think Cam Jurgens has been groomed to be his replacement since he was drafted a few years ago. He was Kelce’s heir apparent when he was drafted. He was kind of scouted by Kelce during the pre-draft process, so it’s going to be his time to shine. Like I said, there’s so many variables that things could go a lot of different directions. If things all go as the organization expects — of course, every team is going to expect the best — but if a lot of these major changes fall in their favor, I think this could be a team that contends once again in the NFC East. I think they made some bold moves in the offseason, whether it’s signing Saquon and adding these two new, experienced coordinators to the team. I think they’ve made some good additions, they’ve lost some really big players. So I think that’s going to be a big variable. I think overall, again, it’s early in camp, but I think I’m somewhat optimistic about this team going into the first week of the season.”

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