Foles sits out, Wentz limited as 40,000 watch Eagles practice at Linc

PHILADELPHIA – There was a star quarterback who wasn't practicing Sunday night when the Eagles took the field for an open practice at Lincoln Financial Field.

This time, however, it wasn't Carson Wentz, who's recovering from two torn ligaments suffered last December.

Rather, it was backup Nick Foles, who was the MVP of the Super Bowl after replacing the injured Wentz. It's not known what was ailing Foles on Sunday night. 

The Eagles estimated that more than 40,000 fans attended the free event at the Linc, the first public appearance on a football field for the Eagles since they won the Super Bowl on Feb. 4.

"Obviously, we know the Philly fan base and what they represent, and how strong of a fan base they are," running back Jay Ajayi said. "We understand the team that we play for. We just won a Super Bowl, and obviously, the expectations again are high. We believe in our team."

So do the fans. They were certainly pleased to see Wentz take the field Sunday night wearing his helmet. They chanted "MVP! MVP! when he came out onto the field with the other quarterbacks before practice. And they screamed for him to sign autographs after the 1 hour, 40-minute session was over.

Wentz, like many of the other players, obliged.

But the fans didn't get to see Wentz take part in the team 11-on-11 drills, something he has not done since July 26. 

Wentz did take part in 7-on-7 drills, which are without offensive or defensive linemen. That is part of the "more controlled environment" that head coach Doug Pederson was alluding to last week, when he twice said that Wentz scaling back from 11-on-11 drills is part of the plan.

Wentz completed his first pass to rookie tight end Dallas Goedert and another to tight end Joshua Perkins. He also overthrew Mack Hollins and another pass was broken up by Jalen Mills.

On his second set of 7-on-7s, in the red zone, Wentz threw a short pass to Matt Jones, and Bryce Treggs couldn't hold his pass in the end zone.

But with Wentz sitting out the 11-on-11s, and with Foles out, that left the majority of the snaps to third-string quarterback Nate Sudfeld and Wesley College's Joe Callahan. 

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There was some good and bad with the deep reserve quarterbacks. Sudfeld had perhaps the prettiest throw of the night, a deep ball down the sideline to Nelson Agholor. But he was also picked off twice.

Callahan hit Perkins for a TD, but missed on some other passes.

In addition, tight end Zach Ertz missed his second straight day of practice. On Friday, Pederson said it was a veteran's day off. But he wasn't on the field Sunday, either. Pederson was not available to the media.

Others sitting out were tight end Richard Rodgers (upper body) and wide receiver Shelton Gibson (concussion protocol).

Also, wide receiver Mike Wallace walked into the locker room during the practice with some sort of injury.

The Eagles are practicing at their facility Monday through Wednesday before taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers in their preseason opener Thursday night at the Linc.

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The Eagles added a veteran safety who's very familiar to them in Corey Graham, who played 64 snaps in the Super Bowl last season as the third safety behind starters Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod.

Graham, 33 years old, is in his 12th season out of New Hampshire. He had 32 tackles, two interceptions, and four pass breakups last season. His biggest play was a fourth-down stop in the end zone late in the Week 15 win over the Giants.

Graham was also a key special teams player, as he tied for second on the squad with 10 tackles. Graham has also played for the Bears, Ravens, and Bills.

The Eagles had been using Tre Sullivan as the third safety through the early part of training camp. Sullivan spent last season on the practice squad.

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.