For three Eagles, training never stops

ZACH ERTZ and Ryan Mathews will join Darren Sproles out in San Diego for some pre-training camp workouts, joining a group headed by Sproles and his former teammate, Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

"The pace we have here? We train at the same pace,'' Sproles said yesterday, as the Eagles concluded a 3-day minicamp and adjourned until camp kicks off Aug. 2.

Sproles said Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer usually takes part, as do Chiefs QB Chase Daniel and Saints wideout Brandin Cooks.

The benefit, Sproles said, is "to be able to work when you're tired," something that comes in handy during the season, especially for a running back who turns 32 tomorrow.

It's typical of Ertz, a third-year tight end, to seek out such opportunities. Earlier in the offseason, he set up workouts with well-known NFL offensive-line coach Hudson Houck to improve his blocking. Then he texted retired tight-end great Tony Gonzalez and set up what became a 3-hour lunch, which mostly consisted of Ertz asking Gonzalez questions.

Sproles, one of the best pass-receiving backs in the NFL over the past decade, also is an eager Ertz mentor.

"He has great hands, man. His hands and his route-running are great, really," Sproles said. "He's going to be a superstar."

Sproles got off to an incredible start last season, his first with the Eagles, then didn't get the ball much down the stretch, though he did make the Pro Bowl as a punt returner. His NFL-best 13.0-yard average included two touchdowns.

Eagles coach Chip Kelly has talked about feeling more free to spread the ball-carrying wealth this year, with LeSean McCoy exiled to Buffalo, but it's hard to predict exactly how all that is going to work out for Sproles. McCoy and his 312 carries are gone, but they have been replaced by reigning NFL rushing leader DeMarco Murray (392 carries, 1,845 yards for Dallas) and ex-Charger Mathews (74 carries, 330 yards in six games last season, 285 for 1,255 in 2013, when he was healthy).

"The thing is, we're all different backs," Sproles said. "No problem."

The coaching staff decided to blow the horn to end spring work yesterday on a high note - rookie free-agent wideout Rasheed Bailey's nifty TD catch over the middle of a Tim Tebow pass, from about 15 yards out.

"That was an awesome opportunity to do that," said Bailey, who grew up in North Philly and played at Division III Delaware Valley. "Tebow was scrambling in the pocket. No play is ever over. He threw it up, gave me a chance, and I made something happen."

Bailey (6-1, 205) grew up as an Eagles fan and, a few years ago, watching the Birds play Washington at the Linc, he started to think he might someday be able to play for them.

"In the beginning, it felt like a dream; it felt like it was all so unreal," he said. "Every day I came in here, put my hard hat on and worked . . . I'm doing it. I'm proving a lot of people wrong."

Chip Kelly said he and Baltimore coach John Harbaugh are "just kind of putting the final pieces together in terms of what we're going to do" in joint training camp practices . . . Mychal Kendricks sat out the last part of yesterday's practice after apparently suffering some sort of left arm or hand problem, but Kendricks stayed on the sideline, didn't go inside for any sort of treatment. Asked about this afterward, he said only, "I'm good" . . . Connor Barwin complimented 2014 first-round rookie outside linebacker Marcus Smith for the way he worked this week, after missing much of OTAs with a groin pull . . . Kelly was asked how he got wideout Jordan Matthews to stop running every catch to the end zone in practice, regardless of whether the play was over, a detriment to Kelly's preferred fast offensive pace. "In football, the play ends on a whistle," Kelly said. "So when the whistle blows, stop running . . . That was the conversation."

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