Eagles and Patriots reportedly planning a joint practice in August
Eagles and Patriots reportedly planning a joint practice in August originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo have discussed a joint practice in Foxborough, Massachusetts this summer, ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported.
The Eagles and Patriots are expected to play in the second week of the preseason and the Eagles would go up early to get in one day of practice against the Pats.
According to the report, Mayo prefers a single practice to limit the fighting that can sometimes happen on the second day of joint practices. (Nobody tell him that Jason Kelce started a brawl to end a single joint practice against the Colts in 2023.)
Joint practices have been a staple of Eagles training camps, especially since Sirianni became head coach in 2021.
Last year, the Eagles hosted the Cleveland Browns for two joint practices and the Indianapolis Colts for one. The previous year, the Eagles were on the road in Cleveland and Miami for joint practices.
“The joint practices are giving you in-game experience, controlled-game experience for two days in a row at practice to work on things that you want to work on and the other team wants to work on and you don't get your quarterback hit,” Sirianni said in 2022. “It's not live to the ground, so it's a controlled experience.”
The other element of joint practices that Sirianni likes, especially on the road, is that it’s a team-building exercise. When the Eagles were on the road in Cleveland, Miami and in North Jersey vs. the Jets the year before, Sirianni felt like his team was able to use that time to connect.
The last time the Eagles held joint practices with the Patriots was 2021, when they hosted Bill Belichick’s team. The Patriots hosted the Eagles for joint practices in 2014 and the Eagles hosted in 2013, both times when Chip Kelly was the head coach.
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