Adoree’ Jackson ‘probably’ will start at cornerback for Eagles; Quinyon Mitchell’s status in question

Entering Week 7, the outside cornerback spot opposite Quinyon Mitchell still isn’t settled for the Eagles.

Kelee Ringo started in that role Thursday against the New York Giants over Adoree’ Jackson for a third consecutive week, but he was benched midgame after he gave up an explosive pass to receiver Wan’Dale Robinson. When Mitchell went down late in the first quarter with a hamstring injury, Ringo was forced back into action.

Vic Fangio said Tuesday that it “probably would be Adoree’” starting on the outside Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, given how the situation was trending before Mitchell’s injury. There’s still a chance that Jackson and Ringo could start on the outside, though, because it “remains to be seen” whether Mitchell is healthy enough to play, according to Fangio.

“We’ve got to settle in and find somebody out there that we can rely on,” the defensive coordinator said of the second cornerback spot. “I think we have the guys that can do that; we’ve just got to get them playing better.”

The regular season has been an extension of training camp, when neither Ringo nor Jackson ran away with the starting job. Jackson began the season as the starter, but after he suffered a groin injury in the Eagles’ Week 3 win over the Los Angeles Rams, Ringo took the role until Thursday’s brief benching.

Neither player performed exceptionally well in the 34-17 loss to the Giants. According to Pro Football Focus, Ringo conceded four receptions on five targets for 73 yards, including 16 yards after the catch. Jackson fared a bit better, allowing five receptions on nine targets for 38 yards. He also generated a pass breakup.

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But Jackson’s greatest shortcoming arguably came on running back Cam Skattebo’s third-quarter rushing touchdown. As the rookie running back charged at him at the line of scrimmage just a yard shy of the goal line, Jackson lowered his shoulder instead of trying to wrap him up and whiffed on him. Skattebo kept his legs moving upon contact with Zack Baun and fell forward into the end zone for the score.

“At the goal line, you’ve got to sell out, because you’re not trying to let them fall forward,” Fangio said. “Because every inch is valuable down there. So he’s just got to sell out and try and go get the guy down.”

Fangio said he didn’t have an inkling that 33-year-old outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith was considering retirement ahead of his announcement Monday morning.

“I was surprised when Howie [Roseman] came in and told me yesterday, I guess it was,” Fangio said. “But you always respect guys’ decisions, personal decisions, and guy had a great career. Did fine when he was here with us. He was good to be around. And wish him the best. It takes strength to do that. And respect it.”

Now, Fangio is tasked with figuring out the best path forward for the edge rushers, given that Smith was playing 38% of the defensive snaps and was leading the group with 1½ sacks. Fangio has only four healthy players on the active roster in Jalyx Hunt, Joshua Uche, Azeez Ojulari, and Patrick Johnson. Nolan Smith (triceps) isn’t expected to return from injured reserve until November after the Eagles’ Week 9 bye.

While Fangio acknowledged that “you always want more at any position” as far as outside additions, he added that the “guys in the building” can absorb the extra snaps.

Could those internal options include Jihaad Campbell, the Eagles’ first-round draft pick out of Alabama who has played almost exclusively at inside linebacker to start his NFL career? Campbell has some experience playing on the edge in college and has taken occasional reps there for the Eagles, depending on the defense’s alignment.

Fangio said “it’s possible,” especially now that Nakobe Dean has returned to the active roster following his stint on the physically unable to perform list with a knee injury he suffered during the playoffs. But Fangio isn’t necessarily focused on getting his best 11 players on the field by moving Campbell to the edge and giving Dean a starting spot at inside linebacker.

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“Really what you want is your best combination,” Fangio said. “It’s kind of like when you’re talking about the offensive line. If your sixth-best offensive lineman is a guard, and your center goes down and he can’t play center, or your tackle goes down and he can’t play tackle, do you go with your ‘I want my five best out there’ or your best combination?”

Fangio also was asked whether the team has discussed bringing Brandon Graham out of retirement to help the depleted edge rusher corps. Not to his knowledge, he said.

Thursday marked another shaky outing for the Eagles’ kick returners.

Tank Bigsby and AJ Dillon muffed catches on kick returns, with both instances leaving the Eagles offense inside its own 10-yard line. Dillon replaced Bigsby in the fourth quarter, but the fifth-year running back didn’t fare much better than his predecessor.

Three weeks ago, when the Eagles muffed four catches on kickoffs against the Los Angeles Rams (once by Bigsby, three times by John Metchie), kicker Joshua Karty threw them for a loop with knuckleball kicks. This time around against the Giants, though, special teams coordinator Michael Clay pinned the Eagles’ shortcomings on poor “catch mechanics.”

When asked if he would go back to Bigsby at kick returner, Clay was somewhat vague in his response.

“We have obviously a plethora of returners that we get to use to our disposal,” Clay said. “So it’s not like you make one mistake, you’re going to be benched for the entirety of the year. But we have plenty of people to go out there and get the job done.”

Two of the Eagles’ most-utilized kick returners — Bigsby and Metchie — aren’t very experienced in the job. Bigsby, acquired from the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier this season for 2026 fifth- and sixth-round draft picks, had just six kick returns for 195 yards in 2024 and four kick returns for 99 yards the year before. Metchie hadn’t served as a kick returner until this season.

“I think everything you do in the NFL, or in football in general, is a developed skill,” Clay said. “You can’t, I think, anywhere in the real world, you just don’t put anybody in to be an electrician. There goes your house, there goes all the lights right there. So it is a developed skill and stuff you’ve got to really work at to get really good at.”

So why have the Eagles turned to inexperienced players at kick returner? Clay acknowledged that Will Shipley’s rib injury on a kick return in Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys limited the Eagles’ options as he sat out for two weeks. Still, Clay acknowledged that the group needs to be better.

“Regardless of the roster or any construction right there, it’s on me to get these guys as confident as they can fundamentally to catch the ball, get going north and south more than anything else instead of trying to scheme up the perfect play right there,” Clay said.