PHILADELPHIA — Zoom out from the end-zone slant zipping toward Ainias Smith. Cross the street from Lincoln Financial Field to the NovaCare Complex. Wind the clock back a week. There’s Smith, after practice, catching slant after slant after slant in the end zone from Jalen Hurts.
“How many reps are you trying to get?” the Eagles quarterback asks. He’s already thrown five. “Until I get tired,” Smith responds. Hurts throws again and again and again.
Smith asked Hurts for the extra work. He’d missed a tough catch in practice. He wanted it back. He wanted to let Hurts know he could trust him to make that catch. Deeper still, he wanted the Eagles to trust him to make that catch. The 2024 fifth-round pick wanted to gain the ground he lost when he opened his rookie season on injured reserve after injuring an ankle in training camp. He wanted to prove he can be more than just a special teams player. So, he works with Hurts until the quarterback tells him he needs to throw a few to Jahan Dotson. Zip. Zip. Then Smith jumps in again.
Now, back to the Linc. It’s the second quarter of the preseason opener. It’s third-and-goal. Smith runs the same route. Backup Tanner McKee sees Smith open. Zip. Smith hauls in the score. He raises his arms and runs to the sideline. Eagles strength coach Fernando Noriega is there, smiling.
“See?” Noriega says. “Hard work is going to pay off.”
Will it fully for Smith? He’ll awake the morning after the Eagles’ 34-27 exhibition win over the Bengals having taken a distinctive step in the team’s wide receiver battle. Immediately after his 6-yard touchdown reception, after the Eagles defense forced a three-and-out, Smith returned a punt 46 yards by juking out one defender and stepping through two more. Two plays later, McKee unfurled a 20-yard touchdown pass between two defenders to Darius Cooper, an undrafted rookie out of Tarleton State, whose six catches for a game-high 82 yards underlined how tightly contested the bottom end of the roster is for the receiving corps.
After the game, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, a former wide receiver coach for the Chiefs and the Chargers, said he’s “looking forward to seeing how that race kind of plays itself out.” The top end is self-evident: A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jahan Dotson. Johnny Wilson’s three catches for 73 yards against the Bengals — including a 28-yard reception that the 6-6, 228-pound receiver bobbled to himself while leaping in tight coverage — added statistical evidence to the value Sirianni said was “underrated” in Wilson last year when the rookie served mostly as a run blocker. Ainias Smith is battling Cooper for what could be a final spot. Terrace Marshall, sidelined with a knee injury, could stretch the room to six. Elijah Cooks, a third-year veteran, was having a promising camp before he was carted off the field against the Bengals with an injury the Eagles did not disclose.
Sirianni has monitored Smith’s development. A former wide receiver at Division III Mount Union himself, Sirianni said “one of the biggest transitions from college to pro is that receiver position.” Smith, as a 5-9, 176-pound slot receiver, must prove he can make more contested catches in tighter coverage. The Eagles have “always seen the explosive ability to change directions by Ainias,” Sirianni said. The punt return provided a prime example. That extra feature may aid him in making the roster. Fully healthy, Smith is prepared to build on a rookie season in which he caught seven passes for 41 yards and a touchdown on just 96 offensive snaps.
“I feel like last year with the injury I was still a little hesitant,” Smith said. “But now it’s like I’m healthy. I feel good. God has blessed me to come out and feel fine again. So, it’s really just about trusting myself.”
Cornerbacks struggle with Jakorian Bennett in the wings
General manager Howie Roseman quickly received confirmation that he made the right decision in his Monday night trade for Raiders cornerback Jakorian Bennett. It didn’t appear that the winner of the cornerback battle was in uniform Thursday night. Kelee Ringo was roasted by Ja’Marr Chase, Adoree’ Jackson surrendered a 21-yard pass that erased a holding penalty that should’ve been advantageous, and Eli Ricks had an inconsistent night in which he was flagged for pass interference, broke up a third-down pass and let a throw he jumped glance off his shoulder pads. Bennett watched from the sidelines.
Ringo’s night was particularly worrisome. On the opening drive of the game, Chase separated from Ringo along the left sideline and snagged a catch on a comeback route while falling out of bounds for a 23-yard gain. On the second drive, Joe Burrow zipped a short pass to Chase along the left sideline, Ringo overshot Chase, and Chase cut inward and bolted for a 36-yard score.
“We’ve got to make that tackle there in that situation and stop that play for a 16-yard gain instead of it going out there,” Sirianni said. “But (Ringo has) done a lot of good things. And everything — we evaluate everything, right? It’s not just a one-game deal. And I have no doubt that he’ll look at the tape, and he’ll get better from that.”
The Eagles were playing cover 0 on the touchdown, Ringo said. It’s a demanding defensive call. To blitz extra defenders, defensive backs must cover their matchups one-on-one with no deep safety to bail them out if they’re beaten. It was a demanding situation. Chase is a four-time Pro Bowler who earned his first All-Pro selection last season by leading the NFL in catches (127), receiving yards (1,708) and touchdowns (17). But the Eagles will see plenty of potent passing offenses in 2025. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is trying to identify a No. 2 cornerback he can trust when calling such blitzes. Bennett will soon get his shot. He arrived in Philadelphia on Tuesday, a timeline that allowed him to only dress for warmups against the Bengals. Two preseason games remain for the Eagles to secure reliability along the defensive perimeter.
Touchback rule amendment debuts
The NFL made the “dynamic kickoff” a permanent fixture this summer with one amendment: touchbacks will now come out to the 35-yard line instead of the 30. Kickoff returns increased from a record-low 21.8 percent in 2023 to 32.8 percent last season, and the league has projected that by moving the touchback to the 35, return rates will rise to somewhere between 60 to 70 percent. Of the 14 kickoffs in Eagles-Bengals, 12 were returned. Eagles running back Keilan Robinson, who’s fighting on the fringe of the roster, had the team’s longest with a 32-yard return in the fourth quarter.
Rookie LB Jihaad Campbell had three tackles in his first action for the Eagles. (Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)
Rookie watch
- LB Jihaad Campbell (No. 31 pick): Subbed in for Smael Mondon on the second drive. He totaled three tackles. He was flagged for hands to the face on a third-and-2 situation during his first series. He later dropped what would’ve been an interception while diving for a pass that popped off Isaiah Williams’ pads after the Bengals receiver was struck by Eagles safety Andre’ Sam on a third-and-17 throw.
- S Drew Mukuba (No. 64): Did not play and only dressed for warmups. He was a limited participant for three practices after returning from a shoulder injury.
- DT Ty Robinson (No. 111): Recorded his first preseason sack on a second-and-9 situation in the second quarter. The Bengals punted two plays later.
- CB Mac McWilliams (No. 145): Started at nickel. On the fourth defensive series, moved to cornerback opposite Eli Ricks. Ran out in front of Ainias Smith and cleared a path for the 46-yard punt return by blocking Bengals punter Ryan Rehkow.
- LB Smael Mondon (No. 161): Started at linebacker opposite Jeremiah Trotter Jr. Totaled four tackles. In the red zone on the first drive, missed a tackle in the flat against Bengals running back Chase Brown, who gained nine yards to the Eagles’ 8. Three plays later, surrendered a touchdown while attempting to tackle tight end Tanner Hudson on a 12-yard score.
- C Drew Kendall (No. 168): Started at center and played until the start of the fourth quarter.
- QB Kyle McCord (No. 181): Entered in the fourth quarter. Completed 1 of 5 passes for 8 yards. Miscommunication on a third-and-11 throw that sailed behind tight end E.J. Jenkins, struck one defender in the shoulder pads and was intercepted by linebacker Joe Giles-Harris.
- OT Myles Hinton (No. 191): Subbed in at left tackle during the fourth offensive series. Surrendered a sack when linebacker Barrett Carter blitzed through him at the start of the second half. Later that drive, defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson swam past for a tackle for loss.
- OT Cameron Williams (No. 207): Subbed in at right tackle in the fourth quarter. Made a heads-up play by diving, reaching and recovering a muffed pitch by backup quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
- Edge Antwaun Powell-Ryland (No. 209): Subbed in at edge rusher in the second half. No statistics.
Lineup notes
- Two players carted off field: Offensive guard Kenyon Green, the player compensation in the C.J. Gardner-Johnson trade, was carted off the field in the second half while gripping his right wrist. Wide receiver Elijah Cooper was carted off the field after exiting the game in the first half with an undisclosed injury.
- Thursday’s starting defense: Edge Joshua Uche, DT Gabe Hall, DT Ty Robinson, Edge Azeez Ojulari, LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr., LB Smael Mondon, N Mac McWilliams, S Tristin McCollum, S Sydney Brown, CB Adoree’ Jackson, CB Kelee Ringo.
- Thursday’s starting offense: QB Tanner McKee, RB Will Shipley, WR Jahan Dotson, WR Ainias Smith, WR Johnny Wilson, TE Grant Calcaterra, LT Kendall Lamm, LG Brett Toth, C Drew Kendall, RG Tyler Steen, RT Matt Pryor.
- Steen’s start: Steen is the only projected starting offensive lineman who played against the Bengals. He only played during the offense’s opening series. He caved in blitzing linebacker Logan Wilson, a starter for the Bengals, which paved a massive hole which Will Shipley burst through for a 38-yard gain. McKee later rushed for a 1-yard touchdown via the Brotherly Shove.
- Emergency PAT kicker: Braden Mann made a point-after attempt with Jake Elliott holding to give the Eagles a 17-14 lead just before halftime. Mann, the team’s punter, had never kicked a PAT in the NFL or in college. He did miss a 43-yard field goal as a sophomore at Texas A&M — his only field goal attempt in college or the NFL.
- Players sidelined: QB Jalen Hurts, RB Saquon Barkley, WR A.J. Brown (hamstring), WR Terrace Marshall (knee), RB Montrell Johnson (hamstring), WR DeVonta Smith, TE Dallas Goedert, LT Jordan Mailata, LG Landon Dickerson, C Cam Jurgens, RT Lane Johnson, Edge Nolan Smith, Edge Jalyx Hunt, DT Jalen Carter, DT Jordan Davis, DT Moro Ojomo, LB Zack Baun (back), S Reed Blankenship, CB Quinyon Mitchell, DB Cooper DeJean.
(Top photo of Ainias Smith: Eric Hartline / Imagn Images)
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