Chip Kelly saw this before, and now he's seen it again.
Almost exactly one year ago, linebacker Travis Long fell to the turf grabbing his left knee. He was out for the season then, and, after taking the same tumble again on Monday, he's out again.
The team announced Long will miss the 2015 regular season with a torn ACL, his second in the NFL and third counting a tear he also suffered in college.
"You just feel awful because we've watched him through the whole process," Kelly said, who also noted Long was on his way to gaining a roster spot this year.
"He's been here the whole time, you've watched him rehab. I think all the players felt the same way because they know ho wmuch he's got invested in this. When I talked to him on the field and then we got the final answer last night in terms of what it was, you really can't put it into words in terms of what it is."
Long, 24, will have surgery soon to repair his knee and resume his career, which he's not giving up on. Nor do Kelly or his coaches want him to.
"The kid's got a passion for this game and we're going to do everything we can to help him and support him," Kelly said.
Kelly noted that Brad Jones and Brandon Hepburn will take Long's former outside position in the coming days in camp and are among the favorites to take the job full-time. Another name in the mix is Marcus Smith, the second-year linebacker who is yet to make any discernable impact after being the Eagles' first-round selection in 2014.
Kiko Alonso, one of Kelly's offseason acquisitions, is not currently being considered for the outside position, still anchored by veteran starters Connor Barwin and Brandon Graham.
After a number of former players alleged their release from the Eagles may have been racially motivated, head coach Chip Kelly says he doesn't regret not releasing wide reciever Riley Cooper.
Cooper had to formally apologize after a 2013 video showed him shouting a racial slur at a Kenny Chesney concert that summer. Kelly noted on Tuesday that "there could be" a connection between the comments and feelings of former black players and the fact that Cooper was not released.
And awarded a five-year, $22.5 million contract to boot for what could be described as an average receiving talent.
Running back LeSean McCoy said that Kelly "got rid of all the black players -- the good ones" in May after being traded to the Bills and cornerback Brandon Boykin said he felt Kelly is "uncomfortable around grown men of our culture" a day after being traded to the Steelers.
Boykin later re-worded his comments, saying that the coach was a hard man to speak to in general.
"I don't spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to connect X to Y to Z and all those other things," Kelly said on Tuesday. "We have other things that we need to take care of."
Scot McCloughan believes the Washington Redskins are going to be one of the toughest teams in the NFL this season, thanks in no small part to his contribution.
He's been an activist in his first year as the team's general manager, and he's waiting for the day when he can finally test all the experiments he's run this offseason.
Passion and toughness has been the name of the game for the franchises in which he had control in forming the roster. His tenure with the 49ers and Seahawks both illustrate his desire, and success, in creating physical, bruising defenses.
McCloughan has every reason to think that tradition is alive and well since his arrival in Washington.
"I know this," he said. "When you play the Redskins this year, you're going to know you played us. You're going to feel us from the standpoint of being physical. The next morning, you're going to be sore."
He wasted no time setting his sights on the Redskins' defense not long after moving into his office, signing Terrance Knighton, Ricky Jean Francois, and Stephen Paea to key the team's new defensive line alongside second-year Redskin Jason Hatcher. Chris Culliver and Dashon Goldson were added to the secondary group to aid veteran corner DeAngelo Hall.
Whether or not this group produces the bruises McCloughan wants them to remains to be seen. Good talent is one thing, and an important thing, but so is chemistry. They'll have little over a month to fuse into a single team
"We're going to get after you and we'll not back down from anything," McCloughan said. "I promise you, we will not back down from anything. If we do, changes will be made, but we're not going to. We're going to get after it."
The Washington Redskins and Robert Griffin III look to be mounting a determined effort this season to decide if they are really right for one another.
Head coach Jay Gruden says he wants his quarterback to be patient, and that he's coming to the realization how just how hard he'll have to work to keep his job.
Griffin seems to be more humble in this year's training camp, settling into the changes the team's offense is making, and the changes he'll have to make himself to conform to it.
"They're not asking me to be Superman," Griffin said, via Monday Morning Quarterback.
"They are asking me to be basic and take the plays that are there. If that's what Jay wants me to do, that's what I am going to do. It doesn't mean you take everything out of your game. When those opportunities come up to make plays out of the pocket, I will do it and not think twice about it. But if they are asking me to do the ordinary, that's what I am going to have to do."
The ordinary is something that has largely evaded Griffin's tenure in Washington. After a thriving rookie campaign in 2012, he took growing issue translating his former collegiate greatness against pro defenses. He faltered in the read-option last season, in which he played to a Heisman Trophy with Baylor, so the Redskins this time around are looking to establish him as a pocket quarterback.
Gruden said a greater focus will be placed on the ground game and the team made an investment in Brandon Scherff at right tackle to help create and sustain a pocket for Griffin to throw from.
Griffin said he's more comfortable playing his second season in Gruden's scheme. But if that comfort fails to translate into a marked improvement in his style and production, the Redskins may finally be confronted with the possibility of looking elsewhere at the position.
The Eagles' already somewhat sketchy position at outside linebacker took another hit on Monday during their second day of training camp.
Travis Long tore the ACL in his left knee almost a year after suffering the exact same injury, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
He will miss the entire 2015 regular season.
Long was to compete for the third spot at his position behind starters Connor Barwin and Brandon Graham, but his absence will now create more pressure on Marcus Smith, the Eagles' first round pick from a year ago into a greater contribution.
Head coach Chip Kelly noted during last season's training camp period that Long would have made his roster had he not suffered the injury then, which he also sustained during his career at Washington State.
Monday was the second day of Eagles camp under the summer sun in south Philadelphia. Here's what we noticed as Chip Kelly's gang took the field.
1. Billy Davis doesn't care for Brandon Boykin's comments.
Though Boykin said his comments about Chip Kelly not being comfortable with "grown men of our culture" didn't mean to paint the coach as a racist, the Eagles defensive coordinator still didn't care for the continuing criticism of the team's regime by its former players.
Boykin walked back his original comment, saying he meant only that Kelly was someone who is a hard man to get to.
"But I can just answer from my view, from being in 10 different organizations, with all kind of different head coaches, schemes, systems," Davis said ahead of camp on Monday. "And I'm telling you from the bottom of my heart, this is a very great place for players.
"Just ask the players how much time we spend on them," he added. "Their mindset, on their moods, on how their bodies are feeling, their hydration. All of it. I think it's a couple isolated guys and they have to answer their own questions about that."
Davis said the team traded Boykin for more practical reasons: his height and relative lack of production, and the lack of space between he and rookies like JaCorey Shepherd.
2. If Fletcher Cox cannot go around you, he'll go through you.
During morning individual drills with pads, Cox took linebacker Najee Goode airborne for a second before planting him back on his feet. A good omen for his potential in the hole this season and the Eagles' continued domination up front.
3. DeMarco Murray sighting.
Murray, and No. 2 Ryan Mathews, were both absent the entirety of the Eagles' 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills on the first day of camp. But Murray started and played consistently on Monday with the first-teamers behind quarterback Sam Bradford. Asked afterwards why he was left out the day before, Murray said it was a coach's decision and had nothing to do with health.
"No, I'm fine, I'm fine," Murray said again and again. "That's how it goes some days. I think some guys get more reps one day, then get less reps. I guess it's part of the deal."
Part of that deal, also, may be that the Eagles are looking for any chance to keep Murray from getting hurt after the heavy workload the Cowboys gave him last season. Any muscle that isn't pulled, any knick that isn't knacked, is one they won't have to worry about in games this fal lwhen it counts.
4. Quarterbacks sharing duties.
Sam Bradford was the only man under center with the first team in all drills on Sunday, with Mark Sanchez left to man the second-team. That changed on Monday as both quarterbacks shared time in the sevens and the 11-on-11 drills throughout the day. Whether or not that's part of the competition Chip Kelly says is still technically open only time will tell.
Bradford is getting his timing down well with Jordan Matthews, who is becoming his go-to target so far. And Sanchez was making hay with rookie Nelson Agholor, who also looks excellent. He makes great cuts and can catch most anything that comes near him.
5. Nothing settled yet at right guard.
Matt Tobin started on Sunday at the right guard position, but it was Andrew Gardiner who held honors on Monday. The Eagles are clearly holding a competition for the job after they parted ways with Todd Herremans, who they dealt to the Colts this spring. Allen Barbre started again to the left, where he has been since the spring. He's penciled in as the Day 1 starter between Jason Peters and Jason Kelce.
6. Inside linebacker taking shape.
DeMeco Ryans and Mychal Kendricks took the most important reps today on the inside on Monday. That was surprising, with Ryans coming off his second career Achilles injury and his turning 31 this season, the plan has been to play him cautiously and insert Kiko Alonso some more. But the Eagles' linebacker situation is one of the best in the league -- a deeper rotation filled with youth and talent. They drafted Jordan Hicks and still have Najee Goode and Emmanuel Acho. Ryans was extended this offseason and Kendricks, according to Chip, "isn't going anywhere." The more may be the merrier with the amount of time the Eagles play that side of the ball thanks to their quick-striking offense.
"In the last two years, we've had more snaps defensively than anybody," Bill Davis said. "So there's plenty to go around. A rotational basis can also be used and that's probably where we'll start."
7. The Eagles take their practice to Lincoln Financial Field on Aug 4, and you're invited.
Of all the character traits one could question Redskins wide receiver DeSean Jackson of lacking, confidence could never be in consideration.
Consistently in recent years one of the best deep threat playmakers in the NFL, Jackson led the league both in words spoken for every catch, but actual yards per reception, as well (20.9).
Going up against new teammate Chris Culliver in practice on Monday in Richmond, Va., Jackson reiterated his primacy.
"I don't think no one can guard me," Jackson said. "It's how I feel about myself. I don't feel no one can stop me. You can get Darrelle Revis, Richard Sherman -- whoever you want to get."
Jackson led football with 13 receptions for 40 or more yards, five more than any other pass catcher in the game. But he came away from his first year in Washington with only 56 catches, not quite the number a player of his rank should be having on average.
Naturally, he says he'd like to contribute more this time around.
"I always love to do more," he said. "Whatever opportunity I get to make a play I'll make the most of my skills. To score touchdowns, to have energy, to light my team up, to get everyone riled up, to continue to go on the field and play at a high level. I just try to set the tempo, playing at a high level and everyone else can follow."
Whether or not Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis will be following him when the Redskins visit New York on Oct. 8 remains to be seen.
First-year Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan wasted no time making his intentions known when he walked through the door in Ashburn this winter.
No more big, splashy deals for marquee names and a king's ransom contract. It would be back to basics -- meat and potatoes moves for decent money to reassert the fundamentals the team had lacked for some years.
They signed a whole new defensive line in the course of a week before turning a glaring eye to their secondary unit, a group that allowed 35 passing touchdowns last season, the most in football.
Step 1 complete, then. Step 2 -- how to incorporate a number of different men into a single team, and, most importantly, how to translate their winning spirit and history into winning play.
It's not something that comes easily, and it certainly isn't a science.
"You can't just bring it in," said cornerback Chris Culliver, one of McCloughan's additions this offseason.
"It's a repetition thing. You have to be out there every day. You have to be out there. It's not just you wake up out the bed and just get to hop out and everything's perfect."
Team building is a thing as intricate and organic as nation building. The main pieces can be added and a philosophy taught, but the majority of actual work to that end must come from within. It's a natural process.
Teaching lessons and personal directives help, but all good leadership comes by example and imitation. It was that winning example that McCloughan sought to add to the mix to be imitated. Culliver, nose tackle Terrance Knighton, and safety Dashon Goldson all have championship game experience with the 49ers, Broncos, and Seahawks, respectively.
A fair amount of old-fashioned luck doesn't hurt, either.
"It's hard to win, it's hard to win in this business," Culliver said. "It's kind of like a saying coach [Jim] Harbaugh used to say, 'Everything pretty much has to go perfect for us to win the game.' And if it do, it do. You know, if it's a tight game about two points, three games, and if it goes in our favor, then it does."
But the Redskins still face a roster, of which the majority have not won consistently. The task at hand is to fundamentally change the attitudes and habits of those players to those of their newest additions.
The hard part of which will be to keep doing it, for an extended amount of time.
"Just giving the guys the outlooks and just breaking down -- I can go on and on," Culliver said of his and others' newfound role. "You're doing good early in the first quarter or something like that, but you know, just because you did good early in the first quarter, the game's not over."
It's true not only of actual games, but practices and workouts, too.
"You have got to keep competing, keep being patient, keep obviously focused and using your technique and things like that," he added.
"Just keep working, you know?"
More work has gone into Sam Bradford's knee than Michaelangelo put into some of his statues.
Somewhere in there is a twice-torn ACL, elegantly patched back together and thus far healing according to nature's intricate plan.
The presumed starter under center when the Eagles kick off in Atlanta this September, Bradford emerged onto the practice field on a bright Sunday morning that was, for this franchise, the first real day of work -- without his knee brace.
Head coach Chip Kelly said Bradford was "a 100 percent" and "full go" ahead of the first practice. His quarterback took all the snaps with the first-team during the seven-on-seven sets and the full 11-on-11 drills all through the day. Mark Sanchez did likewise with the backups.
Rust was an easy prediction, and it was there. Nolan Carroll stepped in front of a pass and another for Riley Cooper was high and long. But timing was bound to be an issue with the missed time he's accrued.
"It was great to get out there and get to run the offense," Bradford said. "There's only so much you can do in 7-on-7. There's only so much you can learn in meetings. I learn best on the field, getting reps. Just to be out there playing with those guys, getting to know how they fill space, building chemistry with our wide receivers and running backs. I think that's what I'm most excited about."
It's the first time he's been able to be excited about anything football related in some time.
During the OTAs and minicamp, Sanchez handled the No. 1 position while Bradford was kept away from the more serious action in preparation for this summer's work, in an effort to inch out every possible second of rehab on his knee. Technically, the competition is still open between the two, but the $13 million that will drip into Sam Bradford's bank account this autumn almost confirms the Eagles expect him to man their up-tempo offense exclusively.
For a variety of reasons, Bradford says this will be the most important training camp of his career. But, aside from the obvious reason, a bigger challenge remains in his learning the Eagles' playbook.
"Obviously, earlier in my career, I went through offenses every year," he said. "The past three years, I was fortunate enough to be in the same offense. When you're in the same offense, you're not learning new things every day. You're kind of fine tuning. I think it's very important I make the most of every rep I get during this camp."
He'll have little more than four weeks to establish himself as the starting quarterback for the team when they open their regular season on a Monday night, so time is tight. He has more than enough stacked against him, but what talent he brings with him is also enough to outweigh it.
Not long after upholding Tom Brady's suspension, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reportedly asked police in Scarborough, Maine if they could watch his house and protect it from vengeful, vigilante Patriots fans.
Maybe he should have called the Air Force.
Richard Pate, proud son of Biddesford, Maine, hired a local pilot to fly a plane over Goodell's home with a banner behind it, telling him to go back to New York.
It isn't the first private plane to troll the DeflateGate scandal from above. When Patriots' camp opened this week, Jets Fan Media rigged a plane to carry a banner reading, "Cheaters Look Up" over the proceedings.
It was too much for Mr. Pate.
"I went over to [a pilot] and asked if he'd be willing to fly a banner, and he was more than happy to," Pate said, via WCSH (Portland). "You know, the irony is I don't remember the Jets winning many Super Bowls, maybe one back in the 60s."
Jets Fan Media, your move.
There are those who have questioned the moves Chip Kelly made this offseason.
Chief among them was former Eagles tailback LeSean McCoy, who, after having played his entire life in the confines of Pennsylvania, resorted to what he thought was the obvious reason for his departure -- Chip Kelly not liking black players.
No mention of himself not fitting into the plan or anything like that, naturally.
But, McCoy's paranoia and unfounded stupidity aside, there was one primary reason why he was shipped to the NFL's Siberia -- money.
Philadelphia would have owed McCoy $11 million to play this season. By sending him to the Bills, and by adding DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews, the Eagles found themselves with two tailbacks for the price of one.
Not to mention, a young and promising linebacker in Kiko Alonso.
That's three excellent players in exchange for one decent player. What could be wrong with that?
Plenty, according to Bill Barnwell at Grantland.
"In a year, it will be clear whether Murray was establishing a new level of performance (and health) or whether Chip Kelly bought high on a talented-if-brittle running back," Barnwell wrote.
He contends the Eagles overpaid for Murray because of what he calls the back's "outlier" 2014 season -- Murray led the NFL with 1,845 yards and 13 touchdowns, but had until then missed 11 games in three seasons with one injury or another.
But after that outing in '14, Murray saw himself due some money. He found it in Philadelphia: a five-year, $42 million contract ($21m guaranteed) that outpaced the offer coming from the Cowboys, by a long way. Dallas put four years and $24 million on the table.
Murray chuckled and typed "Philadelphia" into Google Maps.
The question of whether the Eagles overpaid him is that of potential production minus potential liability, chief of which is that potential for injury.
Still, he comes with a score of up-sides.
Murray is a traditional, patient rusher. Unlike the hippity, hoppity LeSean McCoy of 2014, a man who would try to out-juke bunches of tacklers by running east to west in search of that big gash, Murray is someone with a natural instinct for the hole, a north-south power runner who will cut once if need be before committing to this lane or that, for good or ill.
Behind the Cowboys' stout offensive line last season, that came mostly for the good. That natural instinct comes easily when lanes are made for you more often than not.
Comparisions with the Eagles' current front unit tend to elicit frowns these days for those clad in green. Philadelphia had fielded a contender of their own up front recently before a rash of injuries in 2014 very nearly saw tight end Brent Celek used as a reserve lineman.
Now, with the departures of Evan Mathis and Todd Herremans from the guard positions, the Eagles' interior run game has certainly taken something of a hit. How much of one remains to be seen.
But center Jason Kelce is no slouch, and what they lack on the inside can be made up for outside. Tackles Jason Peters and Lane Johnson remain -- experience and skill to the left and youth, speed, and skill to the right will provide decent edge blocking and make outside rushes easier, combined with able blocking from tight ends and receivers that is par for the course on any Kelly offense.
Looking fair so far, then, the Murray signing. Now, about those injuries.
Chip Kelly was first among observers to note Murray's history. It actually seemed to be on his mind a lot of the time -- he said this spring that he pursued players who had been injured, of the belief that they would be undervalued. Some time off, a quick patch-up job, and they would be ready to go. His play for quarterback Sam Bradford (two torn ACLs) and cornerback/safety Walter Thurmond (torn pectoral) attest to that thinking.
Murray has had a sprained MCL, a sprained foot, a broken ankle, and hamstring problems in the pros. He dislocated his patella at Oklahoma with Bradford as his quarterback. Even in his banner year of 2014, he had an issue with a broken hand, which he played through in a fine effort against the Colts.
The Cowboys took every advantage of him while he was well last year, handing off to him 392 times, a full eighty rushes more than the NFL's next-most -- LeSean McCoy.
That's a lot of bruises.
It's also 497 total touches, including receptions and postseason rushes. Many things have to come together for a player at any position to be used that much with corresponding results. Scheme, state of mind, protection, and health all preclude a rusher's production.
And all were a kind of perfect storm for Murray last season.
But the question remains if Dallas took the bloom off his rose with all that overwork. The Eagles are giving him the kind of money that would demand he repeat (or vaguely approach) those efforts, but the addition of Ryan Mathews at the No. 2 spot would seem to indicate a share-and-share-alike situation for the two coming out of the backfield.
A 2nd-or-3rd down carry here, a series or drive there, could prevent an injury to their No. 1 that would have come earlier with more carries. Mathews could end up extending Murray's career while providing stability to the Eagles' ground game.
Add to that the confidence with which Chip Kelly employs a strict sports science regimen onto his players, regulating their diets, workouts, and even sleep patterns. Kelly will be playing to a careful balance with Murray -- to not ask too much of him so as to not wake the menagerie of injuries that lurk beneath, and not to get scared of those injuries and ask too little of him with the money they're paying him.
Chip Kelly's offseason spending program would put him to the left of the political spectrum (as, frankly, would most), and time will tell if those investments pay off. His deal for cornerback Byron Maxwell turned the majority of heads: six years, $63 million. That number reflects the desperation the Eagles had (rightly) about their secondary position.
Things weren't nearly as tragic behind the quarterback. But Kelly and the gang feel the risks are worth the potential rewards. Murray has a history of missing time, but when on the gridiron posted a 4.95 yards per carry average before his breakout campaign in 2014, when he actually decreased per yard.
Murray is 27 years old, three years out of a four year contract before he reaches the dreaded 30 -- the invisible benchmark that claims the reputations of running backs the league over.
From now to then will determine whether not only his many acquisitions, but Chip Kelly himself, will be the bane or boon of modern Eagles history.
Coming off his second NFL campaign, Eagles tight end Zach Ertz has earned his way into a prominent position in Chip Kelly's playbook.
Kelly knew he liked what he saw in the guy who had little trouble creating mismatches and powering through in short yard situations when his Oregon Ducks faced Stanford in their Pac-12 days.
In 2013, Kelly and Ertz both found themselves Eagles property.
Ertz improved on his rookie outing the following year, gaining 702 yards on 58 receptions, three of which were touchdowns. His catches were the 12th-most by an NFL tight end for the 11th-most yardage.
His 15 pass receptions in Philadelphia's Week 15 game in Washington were a team-best and the most by any man at his position for a quarter-century.
Clearly, he's established himself as an able go-to receiver when needed, an excellent run after the catch talent who can get chunks of turf with speed and brutality. But that's pretty much all he was used for.
The tight end position is supposed to be a hybrid between a blocker and a receiver, with Ertz doing relatively little of the former.
And the Eagles are still waiting for him to spread that brutality around to more use.
Chip Kelly saw fit to add Ertz to his lineup on only 50 percent of his plays last season, all in what became passing situations as he split time with veteran end Brent Celek. With the Eagles having been, and seemingly still, a run-first and play-action team, tight end the younger is still looking up at tight end the elder.
"Obviously, the receiving stuff, I don't want to say I'm a lot better than Brent," he said, "but I am better than him and he knows that and we know that. But he's better than me at blocking right now. So I need to get to the point where I'm equal, if not better, than Brent in the blocking game. That's the mentality I've had."
In an effort to make himself better for whatever will come of 2015-16, Ertz found himself this winter and spring in the company of more than a few revered professionals in the sports game. Basically, he just called them up one day and they answered.
"People nowadays, they have issues with getting rejected in society," he said, via Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com. "That's a problem. And I'm just, like, I don't freaking care if people say no to me. I reached out and that's all I can do."
When former all-time safety Ronnie Lott approached him this offseason, he asked Ertz what he thought was his biggest weakness.
"I just said consistent blocking," Ertz said. "He said, 'Why don't you hire somebody or reach out to somebody who knows somebody you can work with.' So I reached out."
He hired out private training from former offensive line personnel to get the fundamentals of run and pass blocking down, to cut down his reaction times, to set down his footwork, to use his hands more effectively, to set the edges more efficiently.
He took private boxing lessons and mixed martial arts training to better his strength and conditioning overall. UFC legend Randy Couture even put Ertz on his back during a voyage to the former's gym.
He visited with Tony Gonzalez in private and instantly volunteered for a workout led by quarterback Mark Sanchez in southern California.
So far, all his efforts have paid off where it counts the most -- his boss noticed.
"A lot of guys do things and try to get with a coach to prepare them for the Combine, but then they forget about that," Kelly said. "Zach is not that type.
"He was traveling all over the country trying to make himself a better blocker, a better receiver, doing all the little teeny things that's going to make him kind of take that next step, and that's what we're excited to see where he goes with that."
The departure of one Eagles defensive player comes alongside news of the retention of another.
When the team traded cornerback Brandon Boykin to the Steelers suddenly over the weekend, there were those who felt linebacker Mychal Kendricks would be next.
Chip Kelly's chopping block has rarely fallen in single blows.
But Kelly confirmed Kendricks would remain with the Eagles this season, speaking ahead of the first day of training camp in South Philadelphia on Sunday.
"Mike Kendricks is not going anywhere, I can tell you that right now," he said. "You can write that down in ink, not pencil. Mike's not going anywhere."
Kendricks appears happy about that, saying he is "glad to be here" when he took the practice field on the first real Sunday morning of the NFL season, adding that he wouldn't be thinking about the fact that his contract expires after this season until this season is over and done.
"That doesn't even matter, man," he said about his deal. "We're here to play ball and to do the best that we can do while we're here. After the season is after the season. We'll worry about that then. Until then I'm just going to ball out like I've been doing."
He features to be an integral part of a talent linebacking corps for Philadelphia that last year did some balling of its own. Currently occupying the right inside position, he lines up beside recent acquisition Kiko Alonso and DeMeco Ryans. The three of them will likely rotate on the inside, but the Eagles are touching Ryans with kid gloves -- he turns 31 soon and is coming off his second career Achilles tear.
Alonso, too, though young, is recovering from an ACL he tore last summer.
The sum of those parts, along with Connor Barwin and Brandon Graham to the outsides and their confident defensive line play, is one of the surest front-sevens in football. Kendricks played his part, finishing last season with 108 tackles and three forced fumbles.
What the Saints (willingly) lost this week, the Redskins (willingly) gained when Washington signed linebacker Junior Galette.
New Orleans wanted nothing to do with him after a series of off-field issues, even taking a $17 million cap hit in the process. Redskins G.M. Scot McCloughan, on the other hand, wanted everything to do with him.
Though, not exactly at first.
"From the get-go, I was a little nervous about, 'Okay, geez, there's some things out there," McCloughan said at Redskins training camp on Sunday in Richmond, Va.
Some things, like a January arrest on battery charges that were eventually dropped. But mostly the revelation last week of a 2013 video that allegedly shows Galette taking a belt to a woman on a beach in Miami. That was the straw that broke the Saints' back.
"But after we looked into everything -- even with the league office, talking to them and doing all that -- but like I said a couple of things are still pending, but we felt fine with him as a person," McCloughan added.
Galette is under investigation by the NFL for his off-field problems and does still face a potential suspension.
"We did a thorough, thorough research. We did -- you know, brought him in, met with him for hours, interview-wise," he said. "The decision was made because we really believe he's a Redskin. And that's why we signed him."
He added that his and the team's research didn't begin only a few days ago when rumors of Galette's release were first being heard, but when those rumors were known only among insiders in the league's front offices.
"We started a while back," he said. "We heard the word on the street. We started a week before doing our research."
His addition, should he play, could be an intruiging addition to the Redskins' pass rush. Galette has the physicality and strength to get himself into the pocket to disrupt plays, notching 22 quarterback sacks over the last two seasons.
"This is a 27-year-old pass rusher that has a lot of production that's had some issues in the past," McCloughan said. "He had other options, but for some reason we talked him into us being his first visit."
He added there was more to the process than evaluating his talent on the field during that first visit to the team on their first day of training camp.
"I told him, 'I want you to be you.' The reason I'm here is to sit down with you face to face, one-on-one, one hour, two hours, three hours, it doesn't matter. I wanna get to know you as a person," he said. "That's what matters to me."
"He is so sincere and so excited about the opportunity to prove that he's a good guy, to prove that he's a good football player, to prove that he's got a great career ahead of him, it was plain and simple."
McCloughan, who said in April that he didn't want "bad guys" on his roster, laid the responsibility for what would become of the signing, good or bad, solely on his shoulders.
"We all have some kind of issue," he said. "We've all made mistakes or something. I don't want repeat offenders. I don't want the guy that I know is not going to be a good guy and be in our locker room."
He said Galette met also with team president Bruce Allen and head coach Jay Gruden, both of whom were confident with his decision to add him.
"I felt really, really strong about it," he said.
Chip Kelly's Eagles opened their training camp on Sunday at NovaCare Complex in South Philadelphia, inaugurating the official NFL preseason at long last.
Here's what we noticed --
1. If Chip Kelly trades you and you're black, he's a racist.
When the Eagles discarded safety Brandon Boykin to the Steelers in exchange for a potential fourth-round pick in 2016, the traded said the trader was "uncomfortable around grown men of our culture."
Which would render Kelly uncomfortable around grown men of whichever culture Evan Mathis and Todd Herremans belong to, as well. But that's beside the point. The only discernable reason Boykin was traded was because he's black. Not because he's too short, and not because his production wasn't up to the level the team needs from his position. And certainly not because the Steelers needed an addition to their secondary.
Those reasons are far too practical and provable. Whereas racism is provocative and largely unprovable, so guaranteed to gain attention and yet another pedantic sermon from Stephen A. Smith and other race hustlers that still plague the nation's social commentary.
2. Sam Bradford was basically what we thought he'd be.
Okay, but a little rusty. Saying he's 100 percent and "ready to go," Bradford was the first on the field in the 11-on-11 drills. Some of his throws could have been better, others couldn't have been -- a spiral for Jordan Matthews was as tight as any I've seen.
"We don't have any restrictions on him," Kelly said before practice began. And they didn't throughout the day. Kelly has compared his acquisition of Bradford and his trick knee to the Saints signing Drew Brees in 2006 after he had been marked as an injury concern.
Speculations about Bradford claiming a Super Bowl for the Eagles as Brees did for the Saints will have to come after those concerning his status in the team's first preseason game in a week. Technically, the competition is still open between he and Mark Sanchez, who was behind center for all the second-team reps on Sunday. Bradford could use some work, however.
He tossed the only interception on the day, a bad ball right for Nolan Carroll and missed Riley Cooper with a high throw down the sideline. It's the first day, though, and he has too much natural ability to judge him too harshly now.
3. For the time being, Walter Thurmond is a safety.
There had been talk that Thurmond, one of the objects of Chip Kelly's banner offseason, would make the switch. He started at cornerback during his time with the Seahawks and Giants, and has never started an NFL game at safety.
He said he watched and emulated Earl Thomas in Seattle and Antrel Rolle in New York and has been focusing on his new role by paying closer attention to the subtleties of the position, spending time around current Eagles starters Malcolm Jenkins and Earl Wolff.
With the instability, and consequent troubles, the Eagles have had at safety since parting ways with Brian Dawkins six years ago, the team is looking hard for answers and feel going into camp they may on to one in Thurmond.
4. Interior of the offensive line needs to get in shape.
After the Eagles waved goodbye to both their guards, they'll need some fast replacements if their inside run game is to have any effect this year. Allen Barbre took Evan Mathis' former left guard spot, as was expected. Barbre had been filling in when Mathis didn't show to OTAs and minicamp this spring and right now the job is his.
Matt Tobin got some good experience last season filling in on the right side after the Eagles' front line was torn up by injuries, but he's the weakest link in this group. Camp and the preseason will be vital for him to carve any real security between Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson.
5. The running back depth chart was flipped over for some unknown reason.
Which raised some eyebrows. DeMarco Murray, along with college teammate Bradford, was the main attraction in the Eagles' offseason signings. But he didn't take a single rep on Sunday when camp opened. The team had no explanation for his absence, though he did take part in stretches and individual drills in the early part of the day.
Ryan Mathews, the No. 2, was also unseen. Darren Sproles was the tailback with the first-teamers all day in both the seven-on-sevens and 11-on-11 drills.
That's something to keep an eye on.
Almost exactly one year ago, linebacker Travis Long fell to the turf grabbing his left knee. He was out for the season then, and, after taking the same tumble again on Monday, he's out again.
