Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott gets sacked by Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Marcus Smith during the first half at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on October 30, 2016. File photo by Ian Halperin/UPI |
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PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Marcus Smith, who is facing an uphill battle to make the team's roster, skipped all 10 of the team's voluntary Organized Team Activities. It seemed like a strategy by the 2014 first-round pick to get released sooner rather than later. But he insisted that wasn't the case.
"There wasn't a reason," he said Tuesday following the first day of the Eagles' mandatory minicamp. "(OTAs) were voluntary. I just decided to stay home and train."
Smith attended the first two weeks of the Eagles' offseason workout program, going home to Maryland after the team selected defensive end Derek Barnett in the first round of the draft. Smith will head into training camp as the Eagles' No. 5 defensive end, behind Brandon Graham, Barnett, Vinny Curry and another newcomer, 32-year-old veteran Chris Long.
"I'm expecting to be on the team," said Smith, who has just four sacks in three seasons with the team. "I'm expecting to play. I'm expecting to have a great year."
--Jason Peters, the Eagles' 35-year-old nine-time Pro-Bowl left tackle, said Tuesday that he would like to have his contract reworked so that the team doesn't have an incentive to get rid of him. Peters, who started all 16 games last season and played well, will count $11.7 million against the Eagles' salary cap this year. It will be $11.25 million next year.
"I don't want to be year to year," said Peters, who wants to retire as an Eagle, but may want to play beyond 2017. "I don't want (the Eagles) doubting me or releasing me, asking for pay cuts and all that. I just want to make sure I've got the reassurances that I'm going to retire here and don't have to worry about it."
--In Doug Pederson's first season as the team's head coach, the Eagles seldom used two-running back formations. But they've been using two-back sets quite a bit this spring in OTAs, and again Tuesday in the first workout of the team's three-day mandatory minicamp. What's been interesting is that they've frequently paired their two smallest running backs together - 5-foot-6, 190-pound Darren Sproles and 5-foot-8, 176-pound fourth-round rookie Donnel Pumphrey.
"With the amount of running backs we have on the roster, it's a great way to get two running backs on the field at the same time and get guys reps," Pederson said. "It also allows us to see what Donnel can do away from the formation or in a receiver position."
