Five things to watch in the Eagles’ preseason finale against the Jets

One month after the Eagles reported to the NovaCare Complex, the 2025 training camp officially ends Friday night. The last four-plus weeks have seen position battles and injuries, but, all things considered, it has been a relatively drama-free training camp.

The Eagles raise their Super Bowl banner and welcome their rival Dallas Cowboys in less than two weeks.

But first, the preseason finale.

» READ MORE: Jihaad Campbell, Moro Ojomo among the biggest winners at Eagles training camp; Kelee Ringo misses his chance

The Eagles head up the New Jersey Turnpike to face the New York Jets at 7:30 p.m. at MetLife Stadium. Most of the 53-man roster probably already is written in ink, but there are a few spots up for grabs and one last chance for players on the bubble to make an impression.

Here are five things to watch for in Friday’s game:

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said Monday that the cornerback race was ongoing and considered everyone pretty even. But the three practices that followed revealed a little more insight on where things stand.

Adoree’ Jackson took the vast majority of first-team snaps, while Kelee Ringo, at one point, saw action with the third team. It was telling that rookie Mac McWilliams got a first-team look before Ringo did during one session, and newcomer Jakorian Bennett continues to work his way toward more first-team consideration.

Ringo (groin) showed up on the injury report Wednesday, and his status for Friday is unknown.

Fangio said he expected the defensive roster battles to carry into the preseason finale, but will the Eagles call it before then? Is it Jackson’s job? Even if it is, is it only a matter of time until it’s Bennett’s? Or will the Eagles take a longer look at Cooper DeJean on the outside?

» READ MORE: Eagles 53-man roster projection: Brett Toth misses the cut; John Metchie likely a lock

Those questions won’t be answered Friday, but it’s worth paying attention to players who can develop into non-DeJean nickel options like McWilliams and even veteran Parry Nickerson, who has played in just 30 games since the Jets drafted him in the sixth round in 2018 but zero since 2023. The Eagles are his seventh team, and Nickerson has had a good camp. Probably not good enough to make the roster, but weirder things have happened.

Nickerson would be the oldest player on the Eagles’ defense at age 30 (he turns 31 in October). Yes, it’s a young unit.

The Eagles ran 44 offensive plays Saturday in their preseason game vs. Cleveland and netted just 88 yards. The per-play math there is easy to figure out and not so easy to stomach for the Eagles.

As usual, no regulars played, and even backup quarterback Tanner McKee got the day off. That meant Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Kyle McCord were protected by a mashup unit that started Brett Toth at left guard and eventually saw the versatile lineman delivering snaps while rookie backup center Drew Kendall played some guard, a position at which he has barely repped.

It went about as you’d expect.

But the quarterbacks being under siege and the running backs not seeing enough holes to run through underscored an uncommon problem for the Eagles: Jeff Stoutland’s offensive line room isn’t all that deep.

Sure, Matt Pryor probably starts on a few NFL teams. Kendall Lamm started seven games for Miami last season. But neither player going for the swing tackle gig performed that well, and rookie tackles Myles Hinton and Cameron Williams didn’t inspire much confidence, either.

Darian Kinnard and Kendall held up well, but the Eagles will be looking for a rebound performance Friday night, and for a few of them, their spot on the initial roster could depend on it.

McCord and Thompson-Robinson barely had a chance behind that line, but neither played very well, even when they had time to operate.

Don’t expect to see McKee again. The backup showed up on the injury report Tuesday with a finger injury.

McCord took noticeably more reps this week than his counterpart, so it wouldn’t be a shock to see him play even more Friday. The time to showcase Thompson-Robinson for a trade may have come and gone. McCord hasn’t been great during his first NFL camp, but it’s hard to imagine the Eagles choosing to keep Thompson-Robinson instead of a rookie sixth-round pick.

Friday should provide the longest look yet at the quarterback from Mount Laurel.

» READ MORE: Jalen Hurts says offense is ‘building’ as a training camp with moving parts and injuries ends

The Sunday trade for John Metchie created a roster jam at receiver. But the cruel timing of the NFL showed up two days later, when Johnny Wilson was carted inside with an injury to his left leg. Wilson’s injury will require season-ending surgery, sources told The Inquirer.

But before Wilson’s injury, it was fair to wonder if the Eagles would put seven (!) receivers on their initial 53-man roster to avoid subjecting players like Darius Cooper and Ainias Smith to waivers. The math got a little simpler for them with Wilson’s injury.

Does that eliminate all the drama from Friday? Maybe not. We could get our first look at Metchie. Smith wouldn’t hurt himself by catching a third preseason touchdown and showing a little more in the return game. Any undrafted free agent like Cooper could always use good tape. Paging Terrace Marshall?

If you had to pick just one spot where the Eagles could use an upgrade before Week 1, you’d probably pick the edge. Azeez Ojulari and Joshua Uche have shown flashes in camp — Uche more than Ojulari — but it’s not a deep unit behind Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt.

Barring a trade, the most intrigue seems to be for the final spot. The Eagles are most likely to keep five players here, and after the four aforementioned names, it’s probably between Patrick Johnson and Ogbo Okoronkwo, two veterans, to round out the position group. Johnson may have the edge right now, but watch those two closely Friday.

Speaking of final roster spots, one not covered here yet is tight end. Harrison Bryant’s trade to Houston for Metchie eliminated one name, and it’s easy to see Kylen Granson taking the third tight end spot. But EJJenkins has at times looked the part. There’s also the possibility that the Eagles keep just Dallas Goedert and Grant Calcaterra on the initial 53 to give them more flexibility elsewhere.