Eagles Camp Day 15: Big Brawl with Colts Puts Punctuation on Camp

Things got feisty between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Indianapolis Colts at the NovaCare Complex on Tuesday.

PHILADELPHIA – Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro center Jason Kelce had seen enough.

After two consecutive plays in which Philadelphia native Zaire Franklin, the always-active Indianapolis linebacker, tried to bully 5-foot-8 running back Kenny Gainwell a bit, Kelce sprung into action, racing toward Franklin and knocking the sixth-year pro to the ground.

From there the sidelines cleared and head coaches and good friends, Nick Sirianni and Shane Steichen, has to cut the joint-practice session short.

Always accountable, Kelce spoke after practice and admitted, “tensions just got the better of me.”

“We try and keep things civil on the field and I think for me, I pride myself on being a guy that sustains the emotion and the level of play out there and I let my emotions get the better of me,” Kelce admitted. “That certainly doesn't belong out there on the field and a little bit of shame that it got to that level and that I did what I did, so certainly not happy about that.”

Franklin spoke highly of Kelce after practice and the Eagles’ star reciprocated that.

“Forty-four, Zaire, I think he's a tremendous player. I think a lot of all their guys up front and they brought a lot of intensity to the day, which made the practice intense,” Kelce said. “And, you know, I think I didn't handle things properly there at the end.”

-It was a slow burn to the brawl with the first sign being Franklin and A.J. Brown getting into it after Brown snared a crossing route before Franklin shoved the star receiver a little bit too hard.

-From there Jalen Carter slapped the football away from Colts rook quarterback Anthony Richardson before Derek Barnett probably went a little too far when it came to bumping Richardson. That led to a bit of a shoving match between Barnett, Colts’ lineman Bernard Raimann, and others.

-Not everyone on the Colts was in a forgiving mood with Kelce. Indianapolis defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo called the veteran Eagles center a word that begins with a B and rhymes with witch.

-Colts star RB Jonathan Taylor, who is a South Jersey native and has been given permission to seek a trade, was at practice but watching in street clothes. Taylor was spotted in a black hoodie that read: “I am stronger than my darkest days.”

-As far as the football aspect of the session went, as you might expect the Eagles got the best of the Colts. 

We saw the first trick play of camp when Gainwell completed a halfback-option pass to backup tight end Grant Calcaterra after the Indianapolis defense bit on the Gainwell run. 

After practice, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts admitted that was a Steichen play that the Philadelphia offense never got to when the now-Indy head coach was with the Eagles.

-The highlight of the day was back-to-back receptions by DeVonta Smith with Darrell Baker in coverage. First, the third-year receiver high-pointed the football on a go route down the right sideline, essentially Moss-ing Baker. After that Baker was playing off in the red zone and Hurts delivered a perfect back-shoulder fade to Smith for the touchdown.

-Hurts also recovered a poor snap, collected himself, and found Smith for a deep touchdown with Teez Taybor trailing in coverage.

-On a positive special teams note, rookie cornerback Kelee Ringo looked good as a gunner on punt coverage. There’s a role open there after Zech McPhearson was lost for the season with a torn Achilles. McPhearson and Shaun Bradley, who also tore his Achilles, were both watching part of practice with their injured legs on roll-about scooters.

-For the second consecutive practice the Eagles showed a look with Smith running routes from the backfield.

-On defense, Zach Cunningham was again taking the first-team reps at linebacker opposite Nakobe Dean but did not have the best day in coverage, particularly with speedy receiver Josh Downs on a crossing route.

-The safety situation opposite Reed Blankenship is only getting murkier and Terrell Edmunds, Sydney Brown, and Justin Evans all got first-team reps. Edmunds started the practice but Brown made the biggest splash with a big hit to break up a Richardson pass to Mo Alie-Cox. While no flag was thrown, an official had a long conversation with Brown who may have been penalized for lowering the helmet in a real game.

-The Eagles got called for an illegal man downfield on a bubble screen, something that has been a far too consistent theme over the past two seasons.

-A couple of Eagles’ interceptions – one by Mekhi Garner in individual work and another by K’Von Wallace – were wiped out due to penalties as well.

-The Colts' best offensive sequence was consecutive receptions by Juwann Winfree, who drew a PI call on Eli Ricks and still hauled the reception in before sneaking in front of Brown for a touchdown on the next play.

-On the bookkeeping front the Eagles who did not practice were: receivers Britain Covey (hamstring), and Greg Ward (ankle), edge rushers Kyron Johnson (appendectomy), Haason Reddick (thumb), and Nolan Smith (shoulder), and defensive tackle Moro Ojomo (concussion).

Receiver Quez Watkins (hamstring) returned to practice for the first time since Aug. 10. Watkins was limited and participated in individual drills and 7-on-7s but not team drills.

-Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Philadelphia Eagles? Click Here.

Want even more Philadelphia Eagles news? Check out the SI.com team page here

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen