Just because every NFL season brings a long list of changes to teams and rosters, it doesn’t mean that those changes get any easier for some, or less exciting for others. That will continue to be true when the Eagles take the field at Lincoln Financial Field for their 2024 training camp public practice on Thursday night (tickets still available here).
Players will be in pads, wearing their special Eagles Autism Foundation jerseys, and will take the field by way of the tunnel, and emerge to tens of thousands of cheering Eagles fans. It’s a moment for the rookies to fully take in the next step of their careers, and for some of the veteran guys to finally feel that moment with their home team.
It’ll mark the first time Saquon Barkley runs out of the home team tunnel in Philly, and is sure to feel an avalanche of love when he takes the field. It’s also C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s grand return after his year in Detroit.
Among all the celebrating will be a little drop of sadness. Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox’s retirements will be made all the more real without the pair on the field, and this will be the start of Brandon Graham’s own retirement tour.
Still, for all the exciting things, and some of the sad, it’s always a great night for fans to get a taste of football, and the team to get some beneficial reps in front of a live crowd.
Head coach Nick Sirianni has talked in the past about how these public practices are super beneficial for young players, who are able to shake off what can be an overwhelming NFL environment, and be better prepared for when they’re on the big stage in real games.
Bleeding Green Nation’s own Brandon Lee Gowton will be on-site for the event and will be recapping all the action that begins at 6:30 PM Eastern.
