Eagles training camp: Devin White's group chat with Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown; Vic Fangio on James Bradberry; latest injury news

Jordan Davis is a large man sweating the little things.

The Eagles defensive tackle is going into a pivotal third season with the team noticeably slimmer and off to a promising start in the early going of training camp. After the team’s opening practice, a minute detail in Davis’ technique even earned a shoutout from the sometimes-terse Vic Fangio during the defensive coordinator’s film review session with his group.

“JD had a good practice yesterday,” Eagles linebacker Devin White said after Thursday’s session. “He was bending his legs. That was one thing Coach Vic kept saying, that when your legs are bending and you’re in this type of stance, you’re going to have a good down. And he was showing that throughout the film.”

New Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is known to not mince words. There’s usually not much gray area with him.

When Fangio was asked Thursday morning about edge rusher Bryce Huff, and why he thinks Huff can be an every-down player, Fangio delivered an honest assessment of where things stand early in training camp.

“I think everybody thought he could, and knowing that the floor was just rush downs,” Fangio said. “He’s taking the challenge on very well. He has the talent to do what we want him to do, it’s just he’s got to get familiar with doing it. It will be a work in progress. Does he look like he can do it today? No. But I do think eventually he will.”

In the lead-up to training camp, Devin White started a new group chat with Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown. The new Eagles linebacker named the group ‘accountability’ and sent them a photo of an empty glass.

Before they had the chance to respond, White added a message with a goal for the impending training camp.

Hey, let’s pour into it every day. One day at a time. Just pour into it.

After spending his eight-year NFL career as a starting cornerback, James Bradberry is tackling a transition in his career, taking reps in training camp as a depth safety.

That transition won't be easy — on Thursday morning, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio discussed the challenges that veteran corners face while attempting to make that switch.

"The list of guys successfully transitioning from corner to safety is very small, with success," Fangio said. "There’s guys that have done it, but it wasn’t really what you want. We’ll see if James can do that. He’s got a good feel for football, very knowledgeable, so that will help him in that transition."

The ever-important dynamic between Hurts and Sirianni has been subject to scrutiny. Hurts gave measured answers about Sirianni’s job security in January following the team’s late-season collapse and was similarly measured when asked about Sirianni being willing to cede some control of the offense to Kellen Moore at the conclusion of organized team activities early last month, saying he didn’t know how to answer the question.

According to The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane, Hurts’ answer to the question “disappointed several key members of the Eagles’ organization.”

On Wednesday, Hurts repudiated the notion that there’s any lingering discontent between the two of them going into their fourth season together.

I’ll have more of an in-depth look, ahem, at the depth chart in another post soon, but here’s a quick rundown on how key positional battles looked on the first day:

At outside cornerback, Isaiah Rodgers was first up with the starters. Kelee Ringo got some snaps with the first team, as well. Rookie Quinyon Mitchell should be in the mix, as well, for the spot opposite Darius Slay, but he ran with the twos on this day. He could have a better shot at slot cornerback (more on that later).

Tyler Steen was back at first-team right guard and remains the odds-on favorite to remain there. Matt Hennessy worked at second-team center, but that won’t preclude him from competing with Steen. Darian Kinnard and Max Scharping were free agent additions and could vie for the job. The former was with the second team at right guard, while the latter was at right tackle. Steen looks bigger. Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland has said he’s stronger. He’ll be tested in camp by defensive tackle and “Baby Rhino” Jalen Carter. Iron sharpens iron. I think I’ve heard that phrase used in the NFL before.

Saquon Barkley, like everyone else, also is getting accustomed to a new offense. Throughout the team periods, Barkley took plenty of handoffs from Jalen Hurts and even snared some passes out of the backfield. He’s getting used to running behind a new offensive line, which he said was the reason why he wanted to play in Philadelphia in the first place.

“I had a run today where it just felt natural,” Barkley said of working with the offensive line. “It felt like we’ve been doing this for a long time. I kind of set the linebacker up, and I went front door. It was wide open. We got a big gain on them. I’m looking forward to [more of] that.”

He also expressed an understanding that he might not be the focal point of the offense in every game, unlike his overall experience in the Giants’ offense. Hurts, a talent in the run game in his own right, has a variety of skilled receivers and running backs at his disposal, including Brown, Smith, and tight end Dallas Goedert.

The Eagles moved on from Ted Rath, their vice president of player performance. That move was the most notable among the various staff changes the Eagles announced in early June.

Rath was named the NFL’s top strength and conditioning coach for a second time following the 2022 season, which ended with a loss in Super Bowl LVII. But the team took a step back in 2023, and some Eagles staff members felt some players were not in the shape they needed to be in late last season.

“You’re constantly looking at ways to evolve as a staff,” Roseman said. “You’re looking at things you can do different. From our perspective, we made a bunch of staff changes. We’re excited about that.