Who’s It Gonna Be?

PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles on Monday held their second of three practices this week leading up to Thursday’s home opener against the Dallas Cowboys.

Left guard Landon Dickerson (knee) was not present at the start of practice. Veteran Brett Toth filled in for Dickerson to start.

Again, it’s important to note that practice is only open to reporters for warmups and individual drills. The first official injury report of the season will be out later today.

Rookie S Drew Mukuba (hamstring) for the second consecutive day practiced in some capacity after being sidelined for a couple weeks. His return is encouraging, presumably putting him on track to play Thursday night against Dallas.

The early portion of practice observed by reporters also indicated that QB Tanner McKee (thumb), who was sporting a bucket hat, wasn’t practicing – or at least was limited – leaving some degree of uncertainty regarding his Week 1 availability.

If McKee can’t go, the newly acquired Sam Howell would assume the No. 2 role behind Jalen Hurts. Stay tuned for the injury report.

ITB PHOTO/ANDREW DICECCO: Eagles offensive linemen practice on Monday in preparation for Thursday’s season opener.

Notes and musings from coordinator availability:

* Eagles DC Vic Fangio, when asked, wouldn’t reveal his starters at CB, LB and S, responding, “Not sure yet. I’ll let Nick [Sirianni] announce that.” But when asked if he knew who the starters would be, Fangio replied, “Pretty much, yeah.”

While I wouldn’t expect confirmation due to team’s philosophy of competitive advantage, one can surmise – from watching 18 training camp practices and three preseason games – that CB Adoree’ Jackson gets the initial nod at opposite Quinyon Mitchell and that Jihaad Campbell teams with Zack Baun at linebacker.

Safety is interesting, as Drew Mukuba returned to practice from the hamstring injury, though third-year pro Sydney Brown handled the bulk of the first-team snaps this summer.

When asked what CB Jakorian Bennett has shown over the past four weeks, Fangio offered a response that suggests the CB2 spot is fluid:

“I like him. He’s got good speed, he’s got a good attitude, he’s got a good football brain. Shown some good cover ability. I’m sure he’ll be out there at some point this season. It could be this one, too.”

– Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com