For the first time this offseason, the Eagles are required to be at the facility this week.
After several weeks of voluntary practices (OTAs), the Eagles are set to kick off their mandatory minicamp this week. It runs from Tuesday to Thursday. Players will report Monday for physicals.
This is the last time the team will be together before training camp begins in late July.
Here are some storylines to watch:
The gang's all back together
While most of the team has been at OTAs over the last few weeks, there have been some notable absences. Jason Peters, Donnie Jones and Marcus Smith have all been MIA.
Head coach Doug Pederson last week said he expected all his players to be there this week, so we should get to see the missing trio.
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Peters and Jones were mentioned by Pederson at the beginning of OTAs and it seemed like he was fine with their not being at the practices. Peters is a 35-year-old future Hall of Famer, so no problem there. And Jones is a 36-year-old punter. Again, no problem.
Smith, 25, is the more curious case. Pederson did not mention Smith among the absences that first day and the former first-round pick never showed up. It seems possible he expects to get cut and is trying to speed up the process. We will hopefully get some answers soon enough.
If a player does miss the minicamp, the maximum the team can fine him is $80,405. By the rules of the 2011 CBA, the player can be fined $13,400 for Day 1, $26,800 for Day 2 and $40,205 for Day 3.
If a holdout lasts into training camp, players can be fined $26,800 for each day missed.
Chatting with the coaches
On Monday morning, the day before the minicamp begins, the team's position coaches will meet with reporters. This used to be an annual occurrence.
We'll get to ask John DeFilippo about getting blocked from interviewing for the Jets' OC job. We'll get to chat with new wide receivers coach Mike Groh; he's the only new coach from a year ago. And we'll get to ask Chris Wilson about first-round pick Derek Barnett.
Welcome back
Second-round pick Sidney Jones and sixth-round pick Elijah Qualls will be back in the building this week. They were forced to miss OTAs because of the antiquated (and stupid) rule that prohibits players from schools on quarters systems from being in an NFL camp before graduation. There's been talk recently about removing this rule, which would be logical. It's unfair and doesn't make any sense.
Jones' return will mean that team doctors will get a chance to look at him for the first time in about a month. Jones' boot has been removed from his left foot, Pederson revealed last week.
Qualls will have an uphill battle now. For a sixth-round pick, missing the three weeks of OTAs isn't insignificant. We'll see how he looks.
School's out for summer
This is the last week the team will be together until training camp. Quarterbacks, rookies and select vets report on July 24, while the rest of the team will report on July 27, which is also the date of the first team practice.
The head coach normally gives a speech to his players, basically telling them to stay out of trouble over these five weeks. Last year when minicamp let out, Nelson Agholor must have driven directly from the facility to a South Philly gentlemen's club, where he found some trouble.
Carson Wentz plans to get together with his receivers during this break. It's something he wants to make a yearly tradition.
