What to watch in the final (and mandatory) week of the Eagles’ offseason program

The Eagles opened their offseason program on April 15, starting two months of work during which attendance was voluntary for the most part. The only week that players are required to attend is the last one, which comes this week when the Eagles host a minicamp from Tuesday to Thursday.

It will be the first time Carson Wentz practices since signing his megadeal last week, and it will be the last time the team practices before it reports for training camp in late July to start a season with expectations to extend into February. Here’s what to watch in the final week:

After agreeing to a four-year, $128 million contract extension on Thursday, Carson Wentz will hold a news conference on Monday night to address the new deal. Wentz has been asked about the potential of a contract extension multiple times throughout the offseason, and he’s only spoken in general terms about his desire to remain in Philadelphia. This new contract ensures he’ll be with the Eagles at least for the next six seasons, during which the Eagles expect Wentz to entrench himself among the NFL’s elite players – and perhaps deliver another Lombardi Trophy (trophies?) to the team facility. The news conference takes place before the players hit the field on Tuesday. One topic will be why Wentz wanted to do the deal now rather than wait until after the season, when his price tag would have gone up had he remained healthy.

» READ MORE: Anybody who didn’t see the Eagles’ Carson Wentz contract extension coming just hasn’t been paying attention

Malcolm Jenkins’ absence during organized team activities has been conspicuous, but he has only missed voluntary workouts – no different than Lane Johnson, Jason Peters, or Alshon Jeffery. If he’s not on the field Tuesday for a mandatory session, it can be considered a holdout. The good vibes from the Wentz contract will shift to questions about the Eagles’ defensive leader and one of the most important figures in the organization. Jenkins has two years remaining on the four-year, $35 million contract he signed in February 2017, but there’s little guaranteed money remaining on the deal. Jenkins is now the 10th-highest-paid safety in the NFL, and the going rate for top players at the position skyrocketed after offseason spending. The Eagles have not needed to deal with holdouts from mandatory minicamp in recent years, and if a player like Jenkins is missing, it would become the biggest story of the week.

Doug Pederson said last week that he expects everyone to attend mandatory minicamp, and that would include Peters, Johnson, and Jeffery. (Nelson Agholor and DeSean Jackson also missed time last week.) Their absences are not believed to be contract-related, but they weren’t on the field for OTAs. Without three key players on the offense, the group around Wentz has been incomplete. It’s not a big deal for established veterans to miss practices in May; Peters, at age 37, just needs to get to Sept. 8 in one piece. But there will be a better sense of what the 2019 Eagles will look like this season when they get their best players on the field together.

The Eagles have also missed a few starters and key reserves because of injuries. That list includes All-Pro defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, Pro Bowl guard Brandon Brooks, defensive end Derek Barnett, and starting defensive backs Rodney McLeod, Jalen Mills, and Ronald Darby. Although some injuries are expected to linger into the preseason and could push up to Week 1, the Eagles will be a healthier team when they report for the end of July. The residual effect of the absences have been that deep reserves such as safeties Deiondre’ Hall and Tre Sullivan have benefited from more snaps this spring. It’s unlikely the Eagles will be considerably healthier this week than they were last week, so this could be the final period for reserves to play with starters before the Eagles start training camp with most of their roster healthy – or at least almost two months healthier than they are now.

» READ MORE: Eagles vets missing OTAs means first-team work for hungry players, like Tre Sullivan and Rasul Douglas

The Eagles’ position coaches will meet with reporters on Monday for the first time this spring, offering insight on the progress and outlooks of their units. For wide receivers coach Carson Walch and defensive line coach Phillip Daniels, this will be the first time they discuss their new jobs after earning offseason promotions. Running backs coach Duce Staley was a big advocate for drafting Miles Sanders, so he’ll field questions about his newest project. And defensive backs coach Cory Undlin will be in demand to offer updates about a cornerback depth chart in which six players can make legitimate claims to start.

The Eagles have avoided major injuries this spring, and they need that good fortune to stretch one more week. Last spring, the Eagles lost linebacker Paul Worrilow for the season in OTAs. It’s frustrating enough for a coaching staff when it loses a player in July and August before games count. It’s even worse when that happens in June.