How Are Eagles Operating Post-A.J. Brown? 6 Takeaways From Week 2 Of Training Camp

We’re only two weeks into the start of NFL training camp, but we’re starting to get a glimpse at the potential impact new additions might make on certain teams in 2026. That includes the Philadelphia Eagles, who are navigating an almost entirely new wide receiver room after trading A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots this offseason. How is quarterback Jalen Hurts acclimating to his new targets? Elsewhere, there’s a new head coach who is already making a strong impact on his team’s new culture, and another NFC East team made a much-needed move at wide receiver. Here are our takeaways from Week 2 of training camp. Ralph Vacchiano: Trading an elite receiver like A.J. Brown for future draft picks was always a big risk for this year’s Eagles, and they planned to lean hard on veteran DeVonta Smith and rookie first-rounder Makai Lemon to pick up all the slack. So it was quite a problem this past week when both Smith and Lemon missed multiple training camp practices in Philadelphia with hamstring injuries. They still have depth there with veterans Dontayvion Wicks and Hollywood Brown, but they were clearly missing something dynamic with Smith and Lemon on the sidelines. That was really evident on Tuesday morning when they seemed to be working hard on deep passes — passes that quarterback Jalen Hurts struggled to complete without his top two targets. He was out of sync with both Brown and Wicks on the deep routes, overthrowing each of them and getting picked off several times. It’s early in camp and no cause for alarm, but it’s hard to overstate how much they need Smith, in particular. He’s put up No. 1 WR-type numbers each of the past four seasons and his presence is the reason why general manager Howie Roseman felt comfortable trading Brown. Lemon was a bonus, but a necessary one. They loved Lemon’s explosiveness out of the slot so much they traded up in the first round to get him. Both players will be huge components of the scheme new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion is running that will feature a lot more play-action passes and over-the-middle routes. And with more than a month to go before Opening Day, it’s a good bet that both players will be more than fine then. But it’s worth noting that hamstring injuries do tend to linger and even small strains can sometimes turn into season-long issues. That’s especially true with rookie receivers. So their status is worth watching, now that everyone has been reminded how important they both are to the Eagles as they try to carry on without Brown. Henry McKenna: The hype around Caleb Williams is significant. And perhaps it’s even justified. In my time in Lake Forest (Illinois), I saw the Chicago Bears quarterback generate countless big plays in team drills and 1-on-1s. But I also witnessed no shortage of operational errors and pre-snap miscues from the quarterback and the Bears offense. Apparently, the mistakes were not limited to Thursday’s practice. Bears coach Ben Johnson was upset about how Tuesday’s practice went, too. “These padded practices are so valuable, and that’s why I get upset when the offense is — they’re sabotaging practice a little bit, because our defensive players need these reps as much as anybody else,” Johnson said during a press conference. That was Johnson’s second instance where he brought up the team’s shortcomings as a non-sequitur. No one asked him about it. In fact, he first referenced his upset when he was asked about Williams’ presence on the cover of “Madden NFL 27” and the general optimism surrounding the team this offseason. “We tell them the truth in the meetings,” Johnson said, explaining how he cuts out the noise. “When it’s good, we let them know that it’s good. When it’s not good enough. We let them know. Two days ago, practice was not good enough as a whole team, and certainly not as an offense. When you have false starts, delay games, drop passes, center-quarterback exchange, it’s really not a good practice. You can’t evaluate the defense either. “So we have a long way to go. Appreciate all the flowery comments there, but they understand that we’re just getting started here in camp, and hard work is really what we’re doing every single day.” Earlier this offseason, Johnson said he and Williams will focus on improving all things post-snap — given that they spent most of last season focusing on the important elements of pre-snap operation. But it seems maybe they’re moving backward, given how many penalties and problems popped up last week. This isn’t a reason to panic. But it is a reality check. The Bears are building a strong foundation. But they’re still building from the ground level. Greg Auman: The wild run of lucrative new contracts for the NFL’s top running backs — with Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson, Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs and Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor all getting more than $20 million a year — has shifted the position market value so quickly that deals that have not even started yet are looking woefully low. Last August, James Cook signed a four-year deal with the Bills, paying him $46 million over four years. It was added to his rookie contract to start with the 2026 season, and tied him for the sixth-highest contract for a running back at the time. Cook led the NFL in rushing in 2025 with 1,621 yards and made his third straight Pro Bowl. But before his new deal even begins, Cook has dropped to 13th in average salary at his position. How long before he can ask for a new one? Teams are normally hesitant to tear up a deal with more than two years left on it, so that would mean after the 2027 season. Cook’s deal has limited incentives, so no matter how well he plays, he won’t earn more than an extra $2 million. Cook’s deal has less than two years fully guaranteed, and it’s a reminder why players are choosing shorter deals — Gibbs and Robinson went with three years in new money after their rookie contract and fifth-year options are done. For Cook, the third and fourth years aren’t guaranteed, so he could be cut if he underperforms, and he’s capped his value by locking himself in at a dated and much lower salary. He isn’t the only one feeling the financial wrath of signing too soon in the latest running back extension cycle. Miami extended De’Von Achane in May with a four-year deal averaging $16 million a year, but that doesn’t start until 2027 and has barely more than one year fully guaranteed. He’d have to play three years before he’d have two years left on his deal. The Bills did well to lock up much of their young nucleus to long-term deals as soon as they could, and that allows them to extend their playoff window longer than if they gambled and waited. For players like Cook, it means feeling undervalued, though, before a new deal has even begun. Vacchiano: It wasn’t much of a mystery to the Commanders that they had a glaring need at wide receiver. The mystery was only why they didn’t sign one in free agency or select one until the third round of the draft. But they took a big step towards fixing that issue last week when they signed veteran receiver Stefon Diggs to a one-year deal worth up to $12 million. Diggs is 32, but he showed last season that he’s still capable of being a No. 1 receiver. He had 85 catches for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns while playing only about half of the offensive snaps for the New England Patriots. That was also his first year back after recovering from a torn ACL. Even if he just comes close to matching those numbers in 2026, he’ll be a boon to a team that puts few good weapons around electric quarterback Jayden Daniels. Their best option was the ever-reliable Terry McLaurin, but he’s going to be 31 in September and coming off an injury-plagued season. Beyond him, all they had at receiver was the disappointing duo of Luke McCaffrey and Treylon Burks, and third-round pick Antonio Williams. Now, at least, they have a potential 1-2 punch — at least if McLaurin and Diggs can manage to stay healthy at their age. It’s a big “if,” of course, but adding Diggs to the mix was a necessary move for general manager Adam Peters, given the lack of other options available. Washington tried in the free-agent market, targeting Alec Pierce before he re-signed with the Indianapolis Colts and making a push for Romeo Doubs before he signed with New England, but they failed to land any help for their offense. Diggs will more than make up for that big miss if he’s anything close to what he was last year. Ben Arthur: The Titans’ Jeffery Simmons, arguably the best defensive tackle in football, is a fiery player. He’s a big-time trash talker who backs it up with superstar-caliber play. He crossed a line at Tuesday’s training camp practice, though. After an early play in team drills, he scuffled with center Austin Schlottman and threw a punch at right tackle JC Latham. Assistant defensive line coach Tanzel Smart needed to grab and tackle Simmons to separate him from the O-line. Simmons didn’t practice with his teammates for the rest of the day. He was banished to individual work on a side field with a strength coach. “Our policy is if you throw a punch, you’re ejected in the game. Same thing with practice,” Saleh explained. “But rather than going to the locker room, [Simmons] went to the other fields. He still got his work in. So the projected reps and the work that he would have got in, he got in off to the side.” Saleh’s decision to kick Simmons out of practice is significant. When the All-Pro defensive tackle got in a similar skirmish in training camp under previous coach Brian Callahan, it went unpunished (at least publicly). In a small way, Saleh has shown that he has an uncompromising standard that even Simmons — the Titans’ best player — must adhere to. That goes a long way toward establishing a culture of accountability that Tennessee will need to turn around its franchise, which has won just six games over the past two seasons combined. Saleh’s decision is one that can gain the respect of players, too. It’s fair to wonder if respect for last season’s coaching staff waned. Left tackle Dan Moore Jr. alluded to it last week, saying Saleh’s staff is professional and organized. “We’re always going to toe the line of violence, we’re always going to toe the line of being aggressive and call it instigating if you want, it’s just the nature of who we are going to be,” Saleh said. “But we’ve got to be disciplined enough to make sure that we always find our way back to the huddle without giving the other team freebies.” If it means kicking the team’s best player out of practice to enforce that point, so be it. Eric D. Williams: Omarion Hampton didn’t get to show his first-round potential for a good portion of his rookie year, missing seven games due to a severe left high-ankle sprain he suffered in Week 5. And while he ran for 545 yards on a respectable 4.4 yards per carry, Hampton was pretty ineffective in the Los Angeles Chargers’ playoff loss to the New England Patriots, putting up minus-1 rushing yards due to a Week 17 ankle injury. Now fully healthy and entering his second season, Hampton should be a key piece of L.A.’s running game with new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, who had a lot of success with speedy back De’Von Achane while with the Miami Dolphins. McDaniel said that you could argue that Hampton has had the most growth of any player from offseason work through the first days of training camp. “This guy is completely obsessed and focused,” McDaniel said. “His [running] tracks and the urgency to which we’re trying to get him to start the play at the beginning of the play has been phenomenal. He came back from the spring, and with the five weeks he had off, you could tell he was really focused on that. “And in and around contact, something we’ve been working on with ball carriers is how they approach tacklers. And for him and his skill set, nobody wants to tackle that guy. That is a massive human moving very fast. So, the less we can get him to stop his feet and do what we call ‘slash,’ which is pick edges of defenders and shoulder punch them, the better.”