The Philadelphia Eagles are set to take on the Cincinnati Bengals this Thursday night for their first of three preseason matchups.
Unlike Bengals’ head coach Zak Taylor, Nick Sirianni would not answer if the Eagles were resting or playing their starters for the game.
“Yeah, still thinking through all those things. Everything’s discussed,” Sirianni told reporters following Tuesday’s training camp practice. “We’ve spent a lot of time discussing it and we’ll see how that goes. And today’s practice, this will be our third day in a row in practice, and we’ll see how guys are feeling after this and go from there.”
If we’re going off of years past, the Eagles typically don’t play any starters, and if they do, then it’s for just one drive. Philly choosing to rest their starters or not; however, the Bengals won’t have it too easy, considering the Eagles’ depth runs deep at almost every position. They proved that when they put their backups in during their regular-season finale last year.
That said, here are four Eagles players to watch on Thursday.
LB Jihaad Campbell
Jihaad Campbell might seem like an obvious one, but he’s the most exciting one considering the Eagles’ 2025 first-round pick wasn’t expected to be ready for training camp due to a shoulder injury, but surprised everyone when he went full speed on Day 1.
There’s been a ton of hype around Campbell’s name, and one thing that seems to stand out to reporters on sight at the NovaCare Complex is his speed and aggressiveness. Fans may even get to see him lined up at linebacker and edge rusher against Cincy since he’s been taking reps at both positions.
CB Kelee Ringo
The Eagles added to their cornerback competition via a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night. Philly sent Thomas Booker IV to Vegas and received cornerback Jakorian Bennett in return. This move has many questioning the Eagles’ belief in their current cornerback room post Darius Slay.
Third-year cornerback Kelee Ringo has been taking first-team reps opposite Quinyon Mitchell at camp, but hasn’t looked his best. We’ll see if he can make up for those bad practices on Thursday night.
OL Hollin Pierce
It sounds like the Eagles are trying to “pull a Mekhi Becton” with rookie UDFA Hollin Pierce.
Pierce played tackle in college, but the Eagles have him taking reps at guard too. Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland did the same thing with Becton when he came to Philly last offseason and switched him from left tackle to right guard — which worked out very well for the Birds.
RB Will Shipley
The Eagles are set to rely on Saquon Barkley again this fall, but who comes after him on the depth chart is still up in the air.
Second-year back Will Shipley is one to watch as he battles A.J. Dillon for the RB2 job. Shipley didn’t get much action as a rookie, playing just 65 offensive snaps in the regular season and 10 during the Eagles’ playoff run. He also played 244 special teams snaps and recorded six special teams tackles.
His ability to contribute in more ways than one already makes him an impact player and a lock on the 53-man roster, but now it’s time to see where he falls into place behind Barkley.
