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Most years, a draft choice really has to stink not to be kept around. A couple of undrafted free agents usually find a way to stick, at least on the practice squad. A veteran surprise might get cut. But that's about it. The notion of starting jobs being won and lost in an NFL training camp, once so common, is now pretty rare.
The salary cap pretty much demands that a lot of these calls be made earlier. Training camp has become a lot more about conditioning and bonding than about job-winning. Exhibition games have become a lot more about playing the key players as little as humanly possible and keeping everybody healthy than about determining who will fill out the starting units.
It is often a bore, honestly.
But not this year, not for the Eagles.
For the first time in years, this football team has some important decisions to make, decisions that will take place on the playing fields of Lehigh and at the exhibition games. Forgetting quarterback for a second, which really will be quite unforgettable, there are issues on the defensive line and at linebacker, important issues, that will not be settled until August.
This really is a little different. The exhibition games this summer are really going to matter.
"At that position, yes, it will be tough competition," Eagles coach Andy Reid said, when asked about his defense. "It will be hard for the coaches to make that decision. I'm sure, unless we have a bunch of injuries, there could be some tough decisions to make, and that's a good thing. You want to make sure that players play hard and coaches evaluate players on a daily basis."
