Eagles-Browns practice observations: Myles Garrett wrecks offense; Sydney Brown trending up

The Eagles held their 15th open practice of training camp for the 2025-26 season on Thursday at the NovaCare Complex — the second of two joint practices with the Cleveland Browns. Links to Days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14. Here are my observations from Day 15:

Tackle Lane Johnson was held out of practice with a “rest” designation. That meant that the Eagles were missing three starters on offense, with receiver A.J. Brown (hamstring) and guard Landon Dickerson (knee) already sidelined. It showed at times, although I wouldn’t place the struggles on that side of the ball solely on missing players. (Dickerson, by the way, showed up after practice a day after surgery. He wore a sleeve over his right knee and shared a cooler of less-filling beers with Johnson and some Browns offensive linemen.)

» READ MORE: Meniscus surgery didn’t stop Landon Dickerson from enjoying a beer with his fellow linemen at Eagles practice

Guard Kenyon Green (shoulder) and safety Lewis Cine (groin) — a new addition to the injury list — were also out. Running back Saquon Barkley participated in individual drills, but he rested during team drills. Linebacker Zack Baun (back) was again limited. And receiver Elijah Cooks (shoulder) returned from a five-practice absence and was also limited.

Johnson’s absence meant that left tackle Jordan Mailata would see Browns defensive end Myles Garrett line up on his side for most of practice. Garrett bounced back and forth on Wednesday — and the Eagles sort of/kind of kept him in check — but no one needed to see the perennial NFL All-Pro abuse backup right tackle Matt Pryor a day later.

That was unfortunate for Mailata, who must have had flashbacks to the 2023 camp when Garrett wrecked him, quarterback Jalen Hurts, and the first-unit offense. A day after offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo gave him occasional help, Mailata was on an island, and he nearly drowned. I logged a handful of plays in which Garrett won at the line of scrimmage and either registered a run stop with little gain or pressured/sacked Hurts.

Mailata wasn’t always the victim. Center Cam Jurgens was late to trap block Garrett on one of Hurts’ drops. But the six-year left tackle, who was a second-team All-Pro selection last season, just didn’t have many answers for arguably the best defensive player in the NFL.

Hurts’ passing numbers, on the surface, weren’t bad. He completed 11 of 16 throws in team drills, even if Garrett would have had plays whistled dead had he not eased up. He also avoided the interceptions that plagued Wednesday’s session. But most of his completions were from short range or of the check-down variety. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I think he often took what the defense gave him. But Jim Schwartz’s defense made Hurts look befuddled or rushed any time he went beyond his first reads.

An early naked bootleg resulted in Hurts having to eat the play. He was blitzed a few plays later, and running back Will Shipley did well to block linebacker Carson Schwesinger, but Hurts’ pass arrived early and hit tight end Grant Calcaterra in the helmet before he looked back. That set ended with a throw wide of the Denzel Ward-covered DeVonta Smith.

The next few red zone periods were more efficient, if lacking in touchdowns. For each positive play — that I’ll get to later — there was a negative: a screen to tight end Dallas Goedert was blown up when Browns rookie defensive tackle Mason Graham got to him in the backfield; a seemingly jittery Hurts fired a laser through receiver Ainias Smith’s hands; a last gasp corner fade to DeVonta Smith during “hurry up” was easily batted away by Ward.

Even the Hurts run plays weren’t as productive as normal. An early draw worked, but later variations of the play with lead blocks by Mailata and Jurgens netted few yards.

Vic Fangio’s defense, like the day prior, had more success — at least in the early portion. Reed Blankenship starred with two run stops when he shot into the Browns’ backfield. I tallied another tackle from the safety later on as the Eagles’ D-line appeared to dominate what is expected to be a good O-line.

The Cleveland pass offense got going in the second half of practice and reached the end zone on multiple occasions. Blankenship was in coverage when quarterback Joe Flacco found tight end David Njoku near the pylon ahead of linebacker Jihaad Campbell. Njoku celebrated by spiking the football through his legs.

Sydney Brown continued to take the bulk of snaps at safety, although rookie Drew Mukuba spelled him on occasion. Brown had another solid day and is trending toward winning the job. He still practices as a gunner in punt drills, but when Mukuba and other reserves worked on kickoff drills, Brown was on a separate field with Blankenship and safeties coach Joe Kasper.

A day after one of his lesser outings, cornerback Kelee Ringo was relegated to strictly second string, with Adoree’ Jackson taking all the starting repetitions. We’ll see how much each plays in Saturday’s preseason game, but Jackson could be separating from Ringo and others vying for that spot opposite Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean.

Brown pummeled Browns tight end Harold Fannin out of bounds and to the ground after a catch short of the goal line. He later made a run stop coming down from the post. And Brown wrapped up Njoku after a short catch over the middle.

Mukuba trailed Fannin when the rookie tight end hauled in a floater from quarterback Dillon Gabriel for a touchdown. One other safety note: Tristin McCollum met running back Pierre Strong in the hole at the line.

I marked Ringo down for a run stop, but he otherwise wasn’t targeted much in the pass game. Flacco hooked up with Jerry Jeudy on a deep “out” route with Jackson nearby. The Browns receiver was out of bounds, but Flacco can still sling it. Cornerback Jakorian Bennett got hurt late in practice. Receiver Diontae Johnson was wide open as a result, but he bobbled and deflected the ball to Mukuba.

» READ MORE: Eagles-Browns joint practice observations: Jalen Hurts and Co. struggle; Kelee Ringo stumbles in CB competition

Linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. must easily lead the Eagles in tackles this camp, and they’re not just of the cleanup variety. He assisted defensive tackle Moro Ojomo for an early tackle for loss, but I credited him with two more run stops on his own. He had another would-be tackle after Flacco dumped a pass into the flat to running back Dylan Sampson.

Campbell was alongside Trotter at inside linebacker. He appeared to get his fingertips on a Flacco pass that receiver Jamari Thrash couldn’t reel in.

Joshua Uche was first up on the left side at outside linebacker. Jalyx Hunt is the expected starter there, but he has been getting looks on the other side as the Eagles add more to his plate. Uche didn’t stand out much as a pass rusher, but he was held and drew a penalty on a rush.

Nolan Smith notched a sack after an inside move. Flacco still threw the ball and was intercepted by DeJean, but the play was blown over. Hunt pressured Gabriel off the left edge. Ogbo Okoronkwo shared a run stop with defensive tackle Jordan Davis.

I promised to mention the highlights from the Eagles’ first offense. Goedert eluded cornerback Myles Harden in the open field after a schemed-up quick pass from Hurts. DeVonta Smith slid across a zone defense for a decent-length catch over the middle. Running back AJ Dillon had room to run off right tackle. Receiver Darius Cooper caught a short pass inside Ward.

Hurts completed four straight in “hurry up,” but the Browns were content to keep the Eagles underneath and inbounds with the clock ticking.

The Browns offense dialed up a number of wins through the air in the latter portion of practice, some through trickery. Flacco first hit receiver Cedric Tillman in between the hashes on an intermediate route. He then tossed a screen pass that was relayed back across the field to running back Jerome Ford, who picked up about 15 yards.

Later on, Thrash beat DeJean on a two-way go into the end zone. And after Njoku’s touchdown, Flacco flicked a screen to Jeudy, who lateraled to Sampson for a walk-in two-point conversion.

Far be it for me to question the reigning champs or a future Hall of Famer, but this was the last opportunity for Eagles starters to face another team before the season opener. Johnson doesn’t need another practice at this stage of his career, but with Brown and Dickerson already out, his absence compounded the offense’s struggles from the first day of joint practices. Garrett didn’t need to take a day off.

I don’t want to make a bigger deal out of practice than necessary. The Eagles have done a pretty good job the last several seasons despite having some of the lighter camps in the NFL. They’ve won without playing their starters — for the most part — in the preseason. And they claimed a title after just one joint workout last summer.

But scrimmages with other teams have foretold how their seasons would go since Nick Sirianni became head coach. The Eagles mostly dominated the New England Patriots a year ago. They had mixed results against the Browns and Indianapolis Colts in 2023. They outplayed the Browns and Miami Dolphins in 2022. And they were better than the lowly New York Jets in 2021.

I’d say Cleveland got the better of them in 2025, with some asterisks. Let’s see how the Eagles are at full strength, but this schedule opens tough and doesn’t ease up. Could the last two days suggest how they start?

Running back Montrell Johnson missed some time with a hamstring injury, but the undrafted rookie was back in the mix and didn’t appear to lose his spot in the pecking order. … Shipley and Dillon were the first tandem of kick returners, followed by Cooper and Avery Williams and then Ainias Smith and Keilan Robinson. … The Eagles have a closed walk-through on Friday ahead of Saturday’s 1 p.m. preseason game with the Browns at Lincoln Financial Field. The players are off Sunday and reconvene on Monday for the last week of camp.