Newest Eagle John Metchie has some familiar faces to lean on as he works to get up to speed

John Metchie carries some perspective following the two major life events that have come to somewhat define him over the last three-plus years: an ACL tear in late 2021 while he starred at Alabama; and an acute promyelocytic leukemia diagnosis and battle that forced him to miss his rookie season in 2022.

He’ll be leaning on that perspective now after joining the Eagles via a Sunday trade with the Houston Texans.

“Being present with everything,” Metchie said Tuesday after going through his first practice with his new team. “Living the dream. Not worrying about a bunch of things you can’t control. I think that’s probably the biggest one. And understanding the things you can control, the things you’re grateful for.”

Metchie flew to Philadelphia, one suitcase in tow, grateful for a fresh start. The Texans paired a sixth-round pick with Metchie for depth tight end Harrison Bryant and a fifth-round pick.

The wide receiver has 49 catches for 519 yards and one touchdown in his first 33 NFL games, playoffs included, over two seasons. It was a low-risk move for the Eagles with a potentially high reward if the 25-year-old Metchie, who had 96 catches for 1,142 yards in 13 games before his ACL injury in 2021, breaks out with his new team.

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But it was a curious move, given the roster competition that already was underway at wide receiver and the obvious trio of A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Jahan Dotson atop the depth chart. Tuesday’s practice, though, provided an example of why there’s never enough depth when Johnny Wilson was carted off the field after he suffered an apparent injury to his left leg.

Brown (hamstring) and Smith (groin) did not practice Tuesday, so it wasn’t that surprising to see Metchie, who worked mostly with the twos, get some reps with the first-team offense during his first day on the job. There were two things happening on the field Tuesday, Metchie said. There was the mental side of it — learning a new playbook in real time and the verbiage that comes with it. There also was the easier side: “Football is football. You run routes, play offense against the defense.”

Metchie said his catch-up process this late in camp will involve sticking to what he knows and his normal routine while diving into his new playbook.

“I think it’s just one of those things where it’s just noise,” Metchie said. “Yeah, things are happening. Yeah, you got to move. But you can’t deviate from your routine, and you got to take it in stride.”

It’s unclear if Wilson’s injury, which came early in practice during the first team drill session, will be long-term and how it might impact the depth chart. But Metchie’s arrival made the race for the final roster spots interesting, especially between Ainias Smith and Darius Cooper.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo said the players competing for jobs “need to understand, ‘I still have another week to prove myself.’”

“It creates more competition,” he said. “It’s great for the rest of the team. Howie [Roseman] does a really good job of just adding good players and adding depth, giving us more options to work with throughout the season. You’re going to need as many bodies as you can.”

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The Eagles have a recent history of adding a receiver with draft pedigree — Metchie was the 44th pick in 2022 — who might see some regular-season targets this late in camp. They added Dotson, a first-round pick in the same draft, last summer even later, with no practices left in camp.

“I think when you bring a guy in later in camp, they have to be caught up to speed as fast as they can,” Patullo said. “But still having a couple weeks left, I think the timing’s pretty good. … We’re in a pretty good spot where he can still pick it up and feel confident in what he can do.”

Dotson said he told Metchie to “dive into the playbook.”

“Just try to learn as much as possible as fast as possible to give yourself the best chance to get out on the field,” Dotson said. “That’s truly the only way you can get out there is if you know what you’re doing.”

Dotson has some history with Metchie. The two connected when they were in high school and almost went to prep school together at the Peddie School in Hightstown, N.J., but they missed each other by a year. Metchie said he almost went to Penn State, too.

Metchie also was college teammates with DeVonta Smith, who was the first person to call him Sunday to welcome him to the Eagles. Metchie said he thinks his familiarity and friendship with Smith will help him acclimate easier.

While Metchie was sitting out and going through treatment for his leukemia in 2022, Smith wore a T-shirt with Metchie’s name and pictures of him during warmups before an Eagles game in Houston.

“It just shows the love that your brothers and former teammates have for you,” Metchie said. “And that even though we’re in an industry that’s always going, and we have to keep going — on to the next and on to the next — that they’re thinking about you and they have you on their mind.”

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Metchie said he wants to be “dynamic” with the Eagles and wants to try to “contribute to a team that’s already so good. All those other things, I don’t have control over.”

Metchie said his past changed him. As a player, he thinks he’s faster now and more efficient.

As a person?

“I think maturity,” Metchie said. “Something like that happens, and you develop a different sense of maturity, just in the sense of life. You see that you can’t take too many things for granted, and the most important thing is your health, for you and your loved ones. And besides that, everything else is just a blessing.”