Eagles’ Training Camp Notes: Memories of Jordan Matthews Dominate Practice

By: Jesse Larch, Sports Talk Philly Staff

One day after saying goodbye to Jordan Matthews, the Eagles attempted to adjust to life without their most productive receiver over the last three seasons as well as one of their biggest locker room leaders. 

"You're losing a great person," said Doug Pederson when discussing what Jordan Matthews's absence means for the team.

Carson Wentz, Zach Ertz, Chris Maragos, Trey Burton and Jordan Hicks went out to dinner with Matthews last night before Wentz drove Matthews to the airport for a final goodbye. 

"It's tough…replacing a guy like that in the locker room is definitely not going to be easy," Wentz said during practice today. Wentz almost emphasized that this is part of the business. Wentz and Matthews have grown incredibly close since Wentz has come to Philadelphia. 

As for who the Eagles got in the trade, Ronald Darby met with the media today and expressed excitement to be with the Eagles. Darby's biggest asset is his speed, but he does not want to be known as just a fast player:

Ron Darby says he is as proud of his tackling as his more-discussed speed pic.twitter.com/mQN6sqdPfN

— Les Bowen (@LesBowen) August 12, 2017

Darby cannot set foot on the practice field until Jordan Matthews passes his physical with Buffalo, but Darby should be slotted as the first cornerback when he does. 

Nelson Agholor received the bulk of work in the slot with Matthews off to Buffalo. Mack Hollins played on the outside with the first team during the team portion of practice with Alshon Jeffery and Marcus Johnson both missing practice. 

Hollins's stock is certainly on the rise with Matthews now gone, but Shelton Gibson is the receiver who continues to stand out in practice. 

After struggling with drops throughout mini camp and the beginning of training camp, Gibson has corrected his mistakes and has begun to make highlight reel catches daily in practice. The speed demon is battling for a spot at the bottom of the receiver depth chart at this time. 

Donnel Pumphrey continued to struggle with fumbles as the Eagles were hitting on Saturday morning. Pumphrey put the ball on the ground multiple times in Thursday's preseason opener and will need to fix that problem if he wants to see the field this season. 

Defensively, Jordan Hicks stood out with an excellent day in coverage. Hicks has established himself as a premier coverage linebacker in his first two seasons and managed to break up some passes including an interception. 

With nickel corner Ron Brooks missing practice, Malcolm Jenkins received first team reps in the slot, and new addition Corey Graham took reps in Jenkins's place at safety. 

In addition to Brooks, Brandon Brooks, Nick Foles, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Bryce Treggs, Wendell Smallwood, and Anthony Denham also missed practice with injuries. Aaron Grymes was excused to tend to a personal matter.