Eagles’ second corner spot still up for grabs after Kelee Ringo and Adoree’ Jackson struggle vs. Bengals
Both corners surrendered catches to Ja'Marr Chase, who scored a 36-yard touchdown with Ringo in coverage. "I’ve got to come out there and just approach it a little bit better," Ringo said.
The biggest battle at training camp has been at outside corner opposite Quinyon Mitchell between Kelee Ringo and Adoree’ Jackson. After the Eagles’ first preseason game, a 34-27 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, not much has changed.
With quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase in for two drives, Burrow went 9-for-10 with 123 yards passing and two touchdowns, including a 36-yard score to Chase. Ringo took a bad angle and Chase easily evaded his tackle to score the Bengals’ second touchdown, the final play for Cincinnati’s first-team offense.
“He makes a good play,” Ringo said. “Good player makes a good play. I’ve got to come out there and just approach it a little bit better.”
Ringo also allowed a 23-yard catch by Chase on the first drive near the sideline for a first down. Jackson didn’t fare much better. Chase had four catches for 77 yards in two drives, including a 12-yard comeback route on third down that saw him shake off Jackson.
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Getting Burrow and Chase in the preseason threw the Eagles’ cornerbacks straight into the fire, especially since the team wants Mitchell to get tougher matchups than whoever emerges as the other corner. But Ringo and Jackson still struggled against backup quarterback Jake Browning, with Jackson allowing a 21-yard completion to receiver Charlie Jones. If Nick Sirianni and Vic Fangio were looking for one corner to separate himself from the pack, Thursday’s game will keep them searching for answers.
“You evaluate everything. Kelee’s done a nice job in practice to date. He’s made a lot of nice plays in practice,” Sirianni said. “Ja’Marr Chase is one of the better receivers in the NFL. 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 [for a touchdown]. But [Ringo has] done a lot of good things. We evaluate everything. It’s not just a one-game deal.”
The concern wouldn’t be as pressing if either player had differentiated himself at camp. Ringo and Jackson both have had good days against the Eagles’ first-team offense in practice, but during 11-on-11 drills, the Eagles have still been rotating the pair with the first-team defense. On July 29, Fangio criticized Jackson’s up-and-down play, and said that Ringo was “doing fine.”
So, what is Fangio looking to see?
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“Just who’s playing better,” Fangio said in camp. “A lot of the times it’s easy for you guys to see when a guy makes a good play, but there’s a lot of times they have a good play going that the ball doesn’t go there, so you don’t really know it. And vice versa, they may have a bad down going, and the ball doesn’t go there, so it doesn’t get exposed. So it’s just consistent, overall good play.”
Near the end of the game, defensive backs coach Christian Parker pulled aside Jackson and Ringo, who’d long since been pulled from the lineup, for a pep talk.
“Just knowing he believes in us as our coach, as he should, and just continuing to put good things out there for ourselves,” Ringo said of the conversation. “The things that we put out there is a resumé for ourselves, and he just wants us to continue to build that for us.”
Getting the chance to face Burrow and Chase in a game situation gives Fangio and the Eagles a clearer assessment of where Ringo and Jackson are. Rookie Mac McWilliams also got snaps against the Bengals’ first-teamers but wasn’t targeted. Eli Ricks dropped an interception in the second quarter, but he did have two pass breakups.
The newest addition to the cornerback group, Jakorian Bennett, was acquired in a trade earlier this week from the Las Vegas Raiders but hasn’t practiced with the team yet. His first opportunity will come next week in joint practices and next Saturday’s preseason game against the Cleveland Browns.
Despite the mixed results, Jackson valued the opportunity to face the best in his first time out.
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“I personally enjoyed it, for the fact that I can see where I can correct and what I can get better at,” Jackson said. “That’s why I enjoyed going out there and being able to go against their ones. Some of the plays were bang bang.”
He’ll look to see where he can get better. “Whatever it is, just clean it up, correct it, and just go from there.”