A once-coveted starting defender for Eagles now finds place with backups at camp
His tenure as a starting cornerback only lasted a few weeks at training camp, but it appears that Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Kelee Ringo might be out on the CB2 job.
During Eagles practice on Monday, Ringo was out on the rotation at CB2 and was instead replaced by Cooper DeJean and rookie Mac McWilliams. Adoree' Jackson appears to be still in the competition, but as Bleeding Green Nation's Brandon Lee Gowton wrote, it might be over for Ringo as a starting contender.
"Major stock down day for him. Ringo did not rotate in with the first-team defense as he previously had been doing. Rookie Mac McWilliams rotated in for Jackson with the starters instead. Ringo mostly worked with the second-team defense. And even then, Ringo rotated out with Jakorian Bennett taking his place and McWilliams staying on the field at right cornerback. There was a series where Ringo allowed back-to-back receptions to undrafted rookie Darius Cooper. Ringo wasn’t even anywhere near Cooper on the second rep. Ringo then participated in some third-team reps during the developmental period late in practice. Seems like he’s fallen out of starting contention."
What has caused the fall of Ringo at Eagles training camp?
There was hope and optimism that this would be the year that Ringo would step up into the starting lineup and be ready to take over. The 6-foot-2, 207-pound cornerback towers over every other corner on the Eagles and some saw him as the guy who can go up against the taller receivers and shut them down.
It has an ugly scene in Philly with Ringo and Jackson battling it out at CB2 all training camp and preseason. Starting with the win over the Cincinnati Bengals, receiver Ja'Marr Chase made Ringo look silly with two big catches allowed against him, including Ringo missing a tackle that led to a 36-yard touchdown catch for Chase. There really isn't much to add in the loss against the Cleveland Browns on Saturday because...he didn't do anything memorable.
Every time fans watch Ringo out there, he's either allowing a catch or struggling to tackle. It's been frustrating to watch as the potential is there for him to be great, but he's not where he needs to be right now.
Moving forward, the CB2 race is between Jackson, DeJean, McWilliams, and Bennett. A lot of eyes were on Bennett, who made a nice pass breakup against the Browns. Jackson has shown to be a good tackler, but hasn't done much better in coverage than Ringo. DeJean is excellent, but Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio wants to move him around on defense. McWilliams might not be ready to start on the outside, but could play more slot corner if DeJean moves to the outside.
There's a lot that needs to be decided still, but all signs point towards Ringo being out of the competition. Eagles fans will be interested to see how he responds.
