The Birds are Back in Town: Eagles report to training camp Wednesday

PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - The Philadelphia Eagles will open training camp Wednesday as defending Super Bowl Champions. It's the first time the team has done that in franchise history.

Throughout the offseason, head coach Doug Pederson's message has been clear; their focus is on the upcoming season.

"It's a great opportunity for us, great motivating factor for us, to sort of rip off the dog masks and no longer be the underdog, but now be the hunted," Pederson said ahead of the team's Super Bowl Ring Ceremony.

Players and staff will report to training camp at the NovaCare Complex Wednesday morning just down the street from where they defeated the Minnesota Vikings, ending their own storybook run, more than five months ago.

Players will undergo physicals, attend NFL meetings, and have a team dinner before taking the practice field on for the first time on Thursday.

With much of the team's championship roster staying intact, all eyes are on the team's quarterback room and the health of third-year quarterback Carson Wentz. Wentz tore his ACL against the Los Angeles Rams last December.

NFL.com's Ian Rapoport reported Thursday morning that Wentz was likely to start training camp on the team's physically unable to perform list, but the classification would not be indicative whether or not he'll start Week 1.

The good news for the team is they have a reigning Super Bowl MVP on their roster in quarterback Nick Foles to take over for Wentz while he continues to recover.

On the other side of the ball, the Eagles will be looking to find new starters at weakside linebacker and defensive end as they replace Mychal Kendricks and Vinny Curry, who were both released by the team this offseason.

The team will also be looking to lock in the nickel-cornerback position after veteran Patrick Robinson left in the offseason. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz will have plenty of options to try at the position before the season starts with last year's second-round pick Sidney Jones back to full health and this year's fourth-round pick Avonte Maddox in the mix.

The team will also be shuffling the deck at running back with the departure of LeGarrette Blount, and the return of veteran Darren Sproles, who said last week that he'd be retiring at the end of the year. Jay Ajayi is expected to take over the role of lead back, splitting time and touches with Glassboro, New Jersey native Corey Clement.

For more on what to expect from the Eagles during training camp visit the team's website.

You can also find out more about the training camp schedule by clicking here.