Eagles snap counts: Julio Jones gets a taste in first action of 2023

Just a few days after signing with the Eagles, Julio Jones made his first appearance of the 2023 season.

After getting elevated from the practice squad on Saturday, Jones played 16 snaps in the Eagles’ 31-17 win over the Dolphins and caught one pass for 3 yards. When he caught that ball, fans at the Linc began to chant his name.

It wasn’t an electrifying debut, but the 34-year-old Jones hasn’t been on a team all season so this was his first game since a playoff loss in January.

Here’s how the snap counts broke down for the Eagles’ receivers against the Dolphins:

DeVonta Smith: 69 of 72 (96%)
A.J. Brown: 59 of 72 (82%)
Olamide Zaccheaus: 41 of 72 (57%)
Julio Jones: 16 of 72 (22%)
Britain Covey: 7 of 72 (10%)

Brown missed some time when he got a cut on his cheek from his facemask. But that didn’t slow him down as he went off for 137 yards and a touchdown.

Meanwhile, that catch by Jones in the second quarter was the 904th of his career. He’s the NFL’s active leader in receptions and receiving yards. We’ll see where he goes in this offense in the weeks to come. Quez Watkins will miss at least two more games with a hamstring injury.

While Jones has two more practice squad elevations left, the Eagles’ plan is for him to eventually be promoted to the 53-man roster. He didn’t have a big game on Sunday but at least the Eagles got Jones the ball once.

“Yeah it was good to get him a touch,” Jalen Hurts said. “Obviously, he’s a great player. I’ve already spoken on that. I think his resume speaks for itself. We’ll just continue to see where the year takes us with him. I know he comes here. He’s ready to go, ready to work. Trying to come off the street a little bit in the middle of the season, but it speaks for itself with him.”

Other offensive notes

• Jalen Hurts and his entire offensive line played all 72 snaps in this game. That’s good news for Lane Johnson, who came into Week 7 with an ankle injury. Hurts also dealt with a knee injury in this game and was able to stay on the field.

• Dallas Goedert played just 57 snaps (79%) in this game and there were moments where the Eagles just had either Jack Stoll or Grant Calcaterra on the field instead of him. Goedert had a groin injury during the week so it looked like the Eagles were limiting his snaps.

• At running back, D’Andre Swift led the way with 49 snaps, followed by Kenny Gainwell with 23. Boston Scott didn’t see the field on offense.

Defensive notes

• On defense, Terrell Edmunds, Zach Cuningham, Darius Slay and James Bradberry played all 49 snaps. That’s the second-lowest total of the season behind the 47 they played in Tampa in Week 3.

• Edmunds and Sydney Brown started at safety. Brown played 46 of 49 defensive snaps in his first NFL start.

• The Eagles rotated at the middle linebacker spot. Nakobe Dean got 30 snaps, while Nicholas Morrow got 19. Morrow out-snapped Dean last week as Dean returned from an IR stint with a foot injury. Dean said he was on a pitch count against the Jets.

• Josiah Scott played 17 snaps after getting signed from the Steelers’ practice squad earlier in the week. He rotated with Eli Ricks, who played 14 snaps and had a couple nice plays in coverage against Tyreek Hill.

• The DT rotation: Fletcher Cox 37, Jordan Davis 28, Milton Williams 24, Jalen Carter 19, Marlon Tuipulotu 4, Kentavius Street 3. That’s a low number for Carter but he was coming off missing last week’s game with an ankle injury.

The edge rotation: Josh Sweat 38, Haason Reddick 37, Brandon Graham 12, Derek Barnett 7, Nolan Smith 4. Smith had a sack on one of his four snaps; the first of his NFL career.

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