Patrick Causey, on Twitter @PhillySportsJD
It was technically the second day of the Philadelphia Eagles training camp, but since it was the first practice, and the media's first access to the players, it had the feeling of Day One.
Day One normally offers enough news to fill the headlines, but add to it the controversial trade of Brandon Boykin, and his subsequent controversial remarks, and it made for an interesting and busy day to say the least.
Here is a roundup of some of the stories:
Players React to Brandon Boykin's Comments:
By now, you probably know the story. Another player, this time Brandon Boykin, left the Eagles and alluded to the fact that Chip Kelly is not comfortable around African Americans. While Boykin has since clarified his remarks, making clear that he was not suggesting that Kelly was a racist, it did not stop the media from asking players about it.
And the players are sick of it.
Per Birds 24/7, Mark Sanchez told media to "stop asking the players about it": "[During stretching today], guys were like, 'Sanchez, ain't you Mexican? And Bradford aren't you Native American?'" Sanchez said. "And Kiko is Colombian. We've got black guys, white guys, Polynesian guys. Come on, that's crazy, it's not even worth talking about. Stop asking the players about it, it's getting old."
Malcolm Jenkins, DeMeco Ryans and Jordan Matthews also came to Chip Kelly's defense. You can get the full recap of their comments here.
Eagles Turned Down Trade for Nolan Carroll
Credit to Brandon Lee Gowton over at BleedingGreenNation.com for catching the following nugget from Chip Kelly's presser, the Eagles had apparently turned down a trade offer for Nolan Carroll: "we received another call in the summer about Nolan, but we weren't trading [him]."
It is unlikely that the trade offer was substantial enough to justify moving Carroll. Kelly praised Carroll earlier this offseason, suggesting that the cornerback put in extra work in the weight room and was impressing his coaches. As of right now, Carroll is slated to be the starting cornerback opposite of free agent signing Byron Maxwell.
Kelly had more to say on Carroll, again courtesy of BleedingGreenNation.com:
"I think Nolan really grew in his year in this program. You watched when he first got here to where he is now, he has made some great strides. If you ask any guy, any of these players, you talk about our competitions in the weight room and all those other things, the guy who won them all was Nolan. He set the tone for the defensive back group. His game really stepped up and we are excited to see where he can take that next step into becoming a full‑time starter out there. I think it's going to be a really good battle to watch because Eric Rowe is right in that mix, too, but what we are looking for in corner is taller, longer, physical guys and we are excited to see what he can do."
Kendricks Glad to be an Eagle
As we reported yesterday, Kelly definitively said that the Eagles were not trading Mychal Kendricks: "Mychal Kendricks is not going anywhere, I can tell you that right now. You can write that down in ink, not pencil."
The statement brought an end to rampant speculation that the Eagles would trade their budding star inside linebacker.
For Kendricks, the news was welcoming. Per Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News:
Kelly put his arm around Kendricks on the field and told him to expect some questions from reporters after practice.
"He told me. I'm here, man," Kendricks said. "I was always relaxed. In this league, you really can control only what you can control, that was my mindset going into it. I wasn't really worried about it at any point, but I'm glad to be here."
It is unclear whether the Eagles will want, or even be able, to resign Kendricks. For his part, Kendricks is not worried about it: "After the season is after the season. We'll worry about that then. Until then, I'm just going to ball out like I've been doing."
