Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Kelee Ringo is in the mix to secure one of the top cornerback jobs in defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s defense, but his bid to secure a starting job hit an early speed bump.
According to ESPN’s Tim McManus, Ringo has taken some early lumps during training camp, including giving up a big completion deep downfield while playing with the starting defense.
“Ringo has given up a few big plays through the first few days of camp,” McManus writes for ESPN. “Most have come against Brown, one of the best players in the league, but his performance is worth monitoring as he competes with Adoree’ Jackson for the outside corner spot opposite Quinyon Mitchell.”
As McManus points out, it is an unenviable task, being asked to cover Brown during practice, but this summer presented Ringo the opportunity to lock down a starting job and making big plays in coverage rather than getting beaten downfield would go a long way towards the former Georgia standout climbing the depth chart.
Ringo, 6-foot-2 and 207 pounds, enters his third NFL season with 36 total tackles, one interception, and one sack, locked in a heated competition for snaps at a pivotal position group.
Fangio, head coach Nick Sirianni, and the Eagles will get a far better read on where things stand both with Ringo and the rest of the cornerbacks when the pads go on in practice in the coming days, but the 23-year-old Ringo may need to stack a few bounce-back-days to build some momentum after what appears to be a tough start to camp.
Eagles Defense Listed Among NFL’s Elite
The Eagles finished the 2024 season as the NFL’s top-ranked defense, and despite some marquee offseason departures, at least one analyst is bullish Philadelphia will be winning with defense once again in 2025.
Fangio’s group will look substantially different, after safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson was traded to the Houston Texans, Darius Slay landed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Milton Williams signed with the New England Patriots, and Josh Sweat joins Jonathan Gannon with the Arizona Cardinals.
However, a year after holding opponents to a league-low 278.4 yards per game, NFL Media’s Gennaro Filice believes the Eagles enter 2025 with the second-best defense, on paper, behind only the Denver Broncos.
“The Super Bowl champs suffered substantial defensive attrition this offseason,” Filice writes of the Eagles. “Losing three full-time starters (OLB Josh Sweat, CB Darius Slay and S C.J. Gardner-Johnson), a budding star (DT Milton Williams) and one of the most beloved Eagles of the 21st century (OLB Brandon Graham). And yet, I won’t be the least bit surprised if Vic Fangio fields the NFL’s stingiest defense for a second consecutive season.”
If the likes of rookie linebacker Jihaad Campbell more than live up to expectations, young plays like rookie Andrew Mukuba, and Ringo step up, and Fangio’s defensive line continues to be as disruptive as it was last season, Filice could wind up looking prophetic by season’s end.
Eagles’ Kevin Patullo Plans to Call Plays from The Sideline
Eagles Super Bowl MVP quarterback Jalen Hurts is about to embark on his sixth NFL season, while breaking in his fifth play-caller (sixth, if head coach Nick Sirianni’s brief time calling plays is included), so Philadelphia has high hopes Kevin Patullo can keep the momentum building into 2025.
“Yeah, I think we’re still the Eagles offense,” Patullo told reporters on July 26. “I don’t think that’ll change. I think it starts with the run game up front, and then we just build from there. And then, obviously, we’d like to try new things here and there, and we’ll see how that goes throughout training camp and where it leads us to.”
With training camp underway, Patullo revealed that he plans to call the plays from the sideline this season, in part because he wants to strengthen the relationship with Hurts and the Eagles’ other offensive playmakers.
Few players are more tied to the Eagles’ success on offense than Hurts, who says he’s confident in Patullo’s vision, his coaching, and what Philadelphia’s offense has the potential to develop into this season.
“It began in OTAs,” Hurts told NFL Network, of working with Patullo on building out the 2025 scheme. “But that’s kind of shortchanging it. I think all of the conversations that we’ve had, since he’s come over here, when I was in my second year, my first year of starting, all the conversations began then.
“He has an opportunity to lead the group and he’s been very pointed, clear, and leading with great conviction. We just continue those conversations to build and evolve. We’ve been together, we’ve seen different iterations of the Eagles find ways to win. So, that’s something we embrace, something everyone has to embrace to do a lot of the things we’re trying to do. Have a lot of confidence in him.”
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