PHILADELPHIA — After pushing the limits on what a light, health-conscious offseason training regimen can look like, the Philadelphia Eagles are moving a couple klicks back towards the pack — with a nudge from old school defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
Some change will be seen at training camp later this month, when the Eagles are expected to extend their time on the field after cutting down on both the number of practices and the length of sessions in previous years.
“We’re probably on the low-end extreme of time out [on the field],” coach Nick Sirianni said. “There are teams on the high-end extreme. And I think that we need to come up [some].”
Placing a high priority on getting to the regular season with as few injuries as possible, the Eagles tend to land well shy of what’s permitted under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which allows teams to hold 2.5-hour padded practices during the height of training camp. Philadelphia’s high-tempo practices often clock in at around an hour or less, and the schedule includes more days off and practices without full pads than are required.
That approach worked just fine leading into the 2022 season. The Eagles got off to an 8-0 start en route to an appearance in Super Bowl LVII. All 22 of their original starters played in that game.
They took things a step further in 2023, reducing the number of back-to-back practices and increasing the amount of walkthroughs during the heart of camp. Still, they started 5-0 and won 10 of their first 11 games.
However, they looked out of sync early and came a blink away from dropping the opener against the New England Patriots, who finished the season with a 4-13 record. Afterward, Sirianni expressed regret over not playing quarterback Jalen Hurts and other key starters during the preseason, saying he would “definitely re-evaluate some of the preseason stuff next year.”
