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Another day, another practice without Cary Williams.

The veteran corner took the field with his teammates at the start of the session, and even provided a mini-highlight early on when he broke up a Tom Brady pass in the corner of the end zone during one-on-one drills. But moments later his pads were off and he was working off to the side once again, as the hamstring that he tweaked on the first day of camp flared up on him.

On Tuesday, it was not the injury but rather his behavior that forced him to the sidelines. Chip Kelly and Bill Belichick agreed that any extra-curriculars during these joint practices would result in ejection. Williams promptly got into it with rookie receiver Aaron Dobson and was tossed.

Between that, the injury, and his decision to miss a good chunk of the OTAs, you’re talking about a lot of missed time.

Is he doing everything in his power to get onto the field?

The Eagles are getting thin at wide receiver.

First, Jeremy Maclin goes down for the season with a torn ACL, then on Tuesday Arrelious Benn suffers the exact same fate.

A look at the top 10 receivers on the free agent market and the possible “issues” that the Eagles are working through with them.

The Eagles will hold their first joint-practices since 1998 when they welcome in the New England Patriots starting today. Here is what you can expect:

Chip Kelly, as usual, was standing with the punt returners during the special teams portion of practice Sunday. He has been working with them regularly, focusing on improving their tracking ability so that they are consistently under the ball when it comes down.

All of a sudden, Kelly darted towards the sideline and disappeared into the crowd. He had spotted the handful of Atlanta Braves that were in attendance, and made his way into their pack looking for pointers. After all, who knows more about tracking balls than baseball players?

When it was time for Vick to take over the starting quarterback job in Atlanta, Dan Reeves decided to overhaul his offensive system.

Chris Chandler was the quarterback that preceded Vick and he was a sponge. Reeves would give him the game plan Wednesday morning and he’d know it backwards and forwards by that night. He had played in the league for 14 years at that point, and was heading into his fifth season as the Falcons starter when Vick was selected first overall in the 2001 NFL Draft.

Reeves had a wordy and rather complex system in place that was heavily reliant on memorization. To streamline the process for his young quarterback and the rest of the players, he went to a numbers system, which spelled things out more plainly. He also simplified Vick’s reads.

“I didn’t want to complicate it where Mike had to get past the third progression,” said Reeves. “I gave him a one-two thing. As soon as your back foot hits look at one, go to two and if two is not there, Mike you look to run.”

The Eagles, you may have heard, have taken a hit at the wide receiver position. Jeremy Maclin is done for the season with a torn ACL. Arrelious Benn has been dealing with a knee injury for almost all of camp so far. And, well, Riley Cooper (though his roster spot is safe for now, per Chip Kelly).

What is going on behind the scenes in the personnel department as they scan the league for potential help? New Vice President Of Personnel Tom Gamble gave us a little peek:

Chip Kelly has no intentions of getting into a stare-down with the NFL over rules that could potentially restrict his up-tempo offense.

“We understand the rules of engagement,” said Kelly. “[Vice president of officiating] Dean Blandino and those guys in the league office, we met with them at the league meetings, they were here when we had minicamp. I have absolutely no issue with them. We actually embrace the way they are doing it.

“I don’t anticipate any problems.”

We have heard about the benefits of sports science when it comes to fine-tuning athletes and shortening recovery time following physical exertion. But what about when you’re fighting back from serious injury? Seems like an appropriate question, seeing as both Jeremy Maclin and Jason Phillips are about to start on the long road back from ACL tears.

Jason Kelce tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee last September against the Ravens. He began his rehab under Andy Reid and finished it under Chip Kelly. By the sounds of it, there is a noticeable difference in their staffs’ approach.

Practice had been over for a time and just a few stragglers remained around the NovaCare fields. Jason Avant was feeding balls into the jugs machine for a growing legion of eager young receivers. A group of reporters milled around mining for nuggets and subjects to interview.

A short distance away  in their own little piece of land stood Brian Dawkins and Nate Allen, locked in conversation. Dawkins took in practice following Donovan McNabb’s retirement ceremony and had some pointers for the 25-year-old safety.

The video montage that played prior to Donovan McNabb‘s retirement ceremony stirred old memories, and refreshed  you on how good No. 5 was when he was in his prime. The stats that flashed on the screen reminded you that he is the franchise leader in every major passing category, and may very well be the greatest quarterback in Eagles history. The glowing words from Brian Dawkins and Brian Westbrook and Jeffrey Lurie showed the kind of respect he has earned from some of the franchise’s keepers. And the tears that welled up in the quarterback’s eyes suggested that his time here meant more to him than he’d like to let on.

Viewed from this angle, it makes perfect sense that the team would decide to honor McNabb by retiring his jersey. They will do so on September 19 when the Eagles host Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs.

But as we know, McNabb’s time in Philadelphia can not be looked at from one angle alone. Like a prism, you can examine his career from a slightly different vantage point and a burst of new colors will be introduced.

Michael Vick singled out Russell Shepard on Saturday, saying that out of all the young receivers, he is the one that has stood out the most.

Little did Vick know how much that would mean to the undrafted rookie out of LSU. Shepard played quarterback through high school. Guess who he tried to emulate on the field?

“My whole persona and way I played the football game was to be like Michael Vick,” said the Texas native following Sunday’s practice at the Linc.  “For my idol, my favorite player of all time, my mentor to say some good things about me, words can’t explain the way that makes me feel.”

Jeremy Maclin took us inside the moment when his season came suddenly to an end.

He had made it just a few steps off the line of scrimmage and said his foot “basically” got caught in the turf. He tried to go left, his right leg didn’t want him to, and he felt it pop before falling to the ground.

“I was devastated,” said Maclin, who addressed reporters in the Lincoln Financial Field tunnel Sunday. “It wasn’t the fact that it hurt, it was the fact that I knew what happened so I was emotional, knowing what was at stake. This is something that I love to do, I love to play football and knowing that I’m not going to be able to do that, knowing that I’m not going to be a part of this new era here in Philly this year. Hopefully I’ll be around for a few more years to come. I’m going to rehab, get stronger and be better than I was before.”

Chip Kelly told reporters Friday that if he calls 20 read-option plays with Nick Foles at quarterback, he should be fired.

That doesn’t mean he won’t run it all with No. 9 under center.

“Even if I am [the quarterback] I feel like we’ll still run it,” said Foles following Saturday’s practice. “I’m capable of getting five to ten yards and extending the play, maybe more if the Red Sea parts. I feel comfortable going. That’s part of the offense, that’s part of what we’re going to do, so I feel comfortable doing it and I’m willing to do it. I’m excited to go out there and do it and show my athletic ability.”

Chip Kelly wants his defense to eventually run a 3-4. Whether that happens in Year One hinges largely on Trent Cole and Brandon Graham.

“I think there’s a versatility in the 3-4 defense that you like, but, again, I think when Billy [Davis] said it, we’re going from a wide nine to a three‑four.  When do we get to a 3-4? I don’t know,” said Kelly following Friday’s practice. “We’re moving in that direction, but where we go really depends on us making a real thorough evaluation of how those guys at the outside linebacker are playing.”

The highlight from the Eagles first full-squad practice of training camp came courtesy of DeSean Jackson, who made a circus catch over Bradley Fletcher on a long bomb from Nick Foles down the right sideline. Head coach Chip Kelly spent part of his post-practice press conference talking about his wide receiver.

“One thing about DeSean that I’m real impressed with is how he came back in shape. He did a great job yesterday in the conditioning test,” said Kelly. “That proves to me that he spent a lot of time this summer investing in himself, and that’s what we talked about before we left, is I think the sky is the limit for him. He can be a real special player in this league but he’s got to make that decision that he wants to be. I think what he did, just watching where he is right now, kind of his pace and tempo in practice now, he’s what we want.

“We tell our players all the time we want guys to be like super balls, not tomatoes. A super ball bounces all the time and that’s what he is. He’s the ultimate super ball.”