FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Eagles secondary was already jammed with promising young defensive backs.
Now it's even more crowded.
Rookie 2nd-round pick Cooper DeJean, who’s been on the Non-Football Injury list since the start of training camp with a hamstring injury, was activated on Tuesday and actually did some 1-on-1 work during the Eagles’ joint practice with the Patriots on the grass fields outside Gillette Stadium.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
DeJean got hurt during offseason workouts between OTAs and the start of camp. This was the first time he’s been on the field since the spring.
“I’ve been doing a lot of watching,” DeJean said. “It’s a little frustrating but also helps me learn from a different perspective. I can watch film with the guys in the room and just kind of talk through things and learn that way.”
The Eagles are loaded with young cornerbacks, with 1st-round pick Quinyon Mitchell, newcomer Isaiah Rodgers, second-year 4th-round pick Kelee Ringo and DeJean the nucleus of the group, but also Eli Ricks, Zech McPhearson, Josh Jobe, Shon Stephens, Tyler Hall and Parry Nickerson.
Rodgers, Ringo and Mitchell have all been competing for the CB2 spot opposite Darius Slay, and Mitchell has also gotten a ton of work in the slot, along with Avonte Maddox.
NFL
Where will DeJean fit in? He can play outside corner, but the Eagles at this point probably like him most as a slot or a safety, and that’s probably where his reps will come once he’s fully cleared to participate in team drills.
"He's going to get some individual work today, see how he feels,” Nick Sirianni said before practice. “He's progressing nicely and will get some individual work. Don't know about the team stuff yet, but let's see how he is through individual.”
DeJean won’t play in the preseason game here Thursday night, but there’s a good chance he’ll work into full team practices when the Eagles return to work at the NovaCare Complex next week. They’re scheduled to practice Saturday, Sunday and Monday, then Wednesday and Thursday before finishing the preseason with a game Aug. 24 against the Vikings at the Linc.
DeJean had seven interceptions, five sacks, three touchdowns and 13 pass knockdowns his last two years at Iowa.
After ranking 31st in the NFL in pass defense last year, the Eagles drafted Mitchell 22nd overall and DeJean 40th overall, the first time in franchise history they’ve taken two defensive backs in the top 40 picks.
DeJean is 21, Ringo and Ricks 22, Mitchell 23, Rodgers, Jobe and McPhearson 26. The Eagles also have a bunch of young safeties, including Sydney Brown, Mekhi Garner and Caden Sterns (24), Reed Blankenship, Tristin McCollum and Andre’ Sam (25) and C.J. Gardner-Johnson (26).