Eagles Insights: Julio Jones is 'here to dominate,' the Lane Johnson effect, Hurts-Tua memories

A crowd of reporters surrounded an unoccupied locker stall on Wednesday afternoon, and players trickling into the Eagles locker room could guess the subject of the fuss.

It was Julio Jones’ first day with the franchise.

It’s not often a member of the practice squad receives that much attention. It’s not often a member of the practice squad is a potential Hall of Famer.

Jones, 34, walked in wearing a hoodie with No. 80, which he was assigned in Philadelphia. He’ll eventually earn a promotion to the 53-man roster and work in a group that includes A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Nick Sirianni made clear that the passing game still runs through Brown, Smith, and Goedert, and Jones will be a supporting player. Jones said he’ll play whatever role is needed. But when asked how a player with his credentials reconfigures his mindset, he showed why he’ll likely earn a gold jacket in the first place.

“Oh no, no, no. My mindset is definitely to dominate,” Jones said. “Don’t get it twisted. I’m here to dominate. But they have guys here who are already solidified, so wherever they need me to go and be, I’ll do that to the best of my ability.”

Jones is a seven-time Pro Bowler, although he has not reached 1,000 yards in a season since 2019 and he’s been limited to 15 games, 55 catches, and 733 yards during the past two years with the Titans and the Bucs. Asked how much he has left to offer, Jones pushed back on the phrasing of the question.

“Have left? Just keep watching,” Jones said. “Keep watching, and I’ll show you. We’ll revisit this question.”

Jones had been in contact with Eagles general manager Howie Roseman before this week, although he did not want to divulge how far back conversations went. He knows Brown, Smith, and quarterback Jalen Hurts — along with other players such as Fletcher Cox — so he’ll quickly fit into the locker room. But his resume speaks for itself, which was why Sirianni wanted to add Jones with Quez Watkins on injured reserve.

“When you just see him, you’re like, ‘holy crap, this guy plays wide out?’ Sirianni said. “What he looks like, the size and everything like that, and knowing that’s going to be a long day. … I vividly remember seeing him on the sideline, or not on the sideline, in pregame, like ‘holy crap, I’m so glad I’m an offensive coach today’ and not the head coach and not having to worry about the other side of the ball. Let me focus on what I’ve got to focus on because he looks every bit the part. Obviously, all the plays he makes. It was interesting when he was running routes the other day, there was a route that he always– and I won’t get into too much of it in case we get it into our plan, there was a route we always used to run and then he kind of was talking about that when he was running routes the other day with us. It was interesting just to sit there and listen to him explain why he would do certain things on this route. I’m like, ‘Golly, I’ve been trying to coach this route for years. I wish I would have been able to reach out and ask you this question earlier.’”

My view is this is a low-risk signing that makes sense given the lack of production from the No. 3 receiver spot. This isn’t the 2015 Jones, nor are the Eagles expecting it. When he’s on the field, he’s — at best — the fourth or fifth target. But the Eagles were getting little production from Watkins, Olamide Zaccheaus, and Jack Stoll. As Bo Wulf points out, Jalen Hurts wasn’t even looking their way:

For what it’s worth, Sirianni insisted Zaccheaus will still have a role in the offense.

“The toughness that he has and how reliable he is as a player, a guy like that always has a spot on offenses that I’m going to be a part of, always,” Sirianni said. “I’ve been able to have great success with guys that have those two common denominators of toughness and reliability. And so he’s going to continue to give us that as we continue on right here. “So, in no indication is that a knock on O.Z. It’s just where we are, a little bit banged up, and just to get a little bit more depth in there of some guys that have played good football.”

The Eagles don’t want to add someone who’s going to take away from Brown, Smith, and Goedert. Look at how they approached the No. 3 receiver this offseason. There’s already enough discussion after every game about who was on the short end of the target distribution. In Jones, the Eagles get a potential Hall of Famer who has the respect (and relationship) of and with high-profile teammates. It was a smart move from that perspective, similar to adding Ndamunkung Suh last season.

Lane Johnson’s status — and effect on the game

The biggest story this week should be the health of Lane Johnson, who exited the Eagles’ loss to the New York Jets with an ankle injury. It’s not considered a long-term injury and there’s a chance he can play Sunday. In fact, Brian Baldinger said on the PHLY Eagles show on Tuesday that he thinks Johnson will play — and Baldinger and Johnson even communicated when Johnson was in the locker room on Sunday.

The Eagles held a walkthrough on Tuesday, but Johnson would have been out had the Eagles practiced. The Thursday and Friday injury reports will be important to monitor, although Johnson is the type of player who can play without a full day of practice reps.

“Lane is doing everything he can do to get ready to play,” Sirianni said. “Obviously, we haven’t been out on the field and running and cutting or doing anything like that. We’ll see how it progresses. …I would never count Lane Johnson out, that’s for sure. He’s tough. He’s one of the best players in the NFL and he’s tough as heck. So, we’ll see how it goes.”

Johnson’s effect on games has been well-documented — and the Eagles tend to struggle when they miss him. Correlation does not suggest causation, but the record is good supporting evidence: The Eagles are 90-52-1 when Johnson starts (including the postseason) and 13-23 when he’s out (including the postseason).

One thing to keep in mind: Johnson said as recently as last week how much more manageable his adductor injury was compared to the ankle injury that affected him for two seasons. Not all ankle injuries are the same, but my guess is Johnson will be especially prudent with managing his ankle injury given the way his previous injury lingered.

The return of Josiah Scott

The Eagles made another change at slot cornerback after Bradley Roby’s shoulder injury. They brought back Josiah Scott, who played 19 games for the Eagles during the past two seasons. They waived Mario Goodrich. 

Goodrich made the team over Scott during the summer. He didn’t distinguish himself during the first month. Scott has been with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice squad.

“The experience that (Scott) had,” Sirianni said about why they made the change. “With some of the other changes that are happening in the secondary, we know that we’ve played in big games with Josiah and he’s done well in those games. He had an interception last year against New Orleans. Obviously, we lost that game, but we played well on defense and Josiah was a big part of that. So, we’ve got confidence in him. We’ve got confidence in the person. We’ve got confidence in the player. So, I think a little bit of that was just his experience in this city, his experience with this team, his experience with these guys on this team.”

Something else to keep in mind: Scott has experience at safety. He cross-trained during the 2022 training camp, and the Eagles needed safety help with Justin Evans on injured reserve and Reed Blankenship dealing with a ribs injury. Sydney Brown is set to return, but Scott’s versatility to help at safety leaves the Eagles with another option at the position. 

Hurts vs. Tua

The storyline that might get the most attention during the game is the connection between Hurts and Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who famously replaced Hurts at halftime of the national championship game while at Alabama. 

This is the first time they’re playing against each other in the NFL. They practiced against each other last year leading up to an Eagles-Dolphins preseason game. It’s a storyline you’re bound to hear on the broadcast on Sunday. Hurts did not add much fuel to the topic on Wednesday, speaking generally about his relationship with Tagovailoa. 

However, it’s not hyperbole to suggest that the way the Hurts responded to the benching was considered a plus for the Eagles during the scouting process. They were attracted to the way he dealt with adversity, and that approach has been a formative part of Hurts’ career.

“It’s a compound effect of not just those times at Alabama, but my whole career as far as a number of different experiences,” Hurts said. “There’s also an opportunity to learn from that. I think I’ve grown in wisdom.”

Sirianni has been drawn to Hurts’ steadiness, which he said is a key to Hurts’ mental makeup. That, too, was apparent in how he responded to the Alabama benching.

“I think when you go through adversity, it’s common to think about what’s going to happen in the future,” Sirianni said. “That’s in football. That’s in life. You’re focused on, ‘we’re going through a really hard time what if, what if, what if, what if, what if,’ right, and I think the mindset that Jalen has is to be locked in right where he is in the moment and handling the things that he can control. I think that’s why you see a steadiness in him of who he is as a person and who he is as a player.”

Vic Fangio didn’t get “all the secrets”

An under-the-radar part of the Eagles-Dolphins game to consider: Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio spent time with the Eagles leading up to the Super Bowl last season and knows the Eagles’ coaching staff and offensive scheme.

“We didn’t give him all the secrets!” Sirianni said. “I asked him for his help. He was giving us information, and not us giving him information.”

Fangio worked with the Eagles’ offensive coaches to offer a defensive coach’s perspective on their scheme. Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson said Fangio knows some of what the Eagles like to do, although that background goes both ways.

Fangio also has had a significant influence on the Eagles’ defense. Sean Desai worked for Fangio in Chicago and considers him a coaching mentor in the NFL.

Sirianni noted that Fangio, a Pennsylvaina native, is a devoted Phillies fan. The Eagles’ defensive coaches were meeting when Kyle Schwarber hit a home run on Tuesday. (They saw the fireworks from their meeting room.) Sirianni is hoping Fangio has been watching the games, too.

“I’m hoping he’s a little distracted,” Sirianni said. “But a really good person. Really good coach. Value the friendship that we have and the time that we spent together last year.”