Vic Fangio hints of looming change at starting cornerback

Vic Fangio hints of looming change at starting cornerback originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Vic Fangio won't say when it's going to happen and he won't say why it's going to happen. He sounds pretty sure that it is going to happen.

At some point this season, Kelee Ringo will be a starting cornerback for the Eagles.

Ringo, the Eagles' 4th-round pick in 2023, was the pre-camp favorite to win the second outside cornerback spot, but as the summer went on his struggles became more and more apparent, both in the preseason games and at practice.

He not only lost the battle for a starting spot to veteran Adoree' Jackson, he found himself buried on the depth chart behind Jakorian Bennett, who didn't even join the Eagles until a week and a half into camp.

Bennett has played 24 defensive snaps when Jackson has gotten banged up in each of the first three games, and Ringo hasn't played a single defensive snap.

So the current cornerback hierarchy is clear: 1) Quinyon Mitchell, 2) Adoree' Jackson, 3) Jakorian Bennett, 4) Kelee Ringo.

But that may be about to change.

I've told Kelee here recently, not in the last few days but since the end of camp, he's going to get his opportunity at some point," Fangio said. And he's got to be ready."

It's an interesting thing to say. Going to get." Not may get."

And Fangio wouldn't say it if he didn't mean it.

Ringo didn't play poorly last year when he did get opportunities. He played 179 defensive snaps and had a Pro Football Focus grade of 65.5, which ranked 60th out of 157 corners who played at least 100 defensive snaps. His 66.4 coverage grade ranked 55th out of 157.

Fangio said Ringo handled losing the cornerback competition well and has improved since training camp ended. His main role in practice as the fourth corner is running scout team, and that's not the easiest way to impress the coaches, but Fangio said he's seen growth from both Ringo and rookie corner Mac McWilliams the last few weeks.

Jackson was pretty bad against the Cowboys but has been better the last two weeks when he's been able to stay on the field. But he's 29 years old, in his ninth season and on a one-year contract. He also suffered a groin injury early in the fourth quarter and didn't return to the game, so he may not even be available Sunday in Tampa. Either way, he's clearly not the cornerback of the future.

Ringo just turned 23 and he's still got that great speed and size and those long arms. We see his speed, athleticism and physicality on special teams, where he's played a team-high 62 snaps.

It remains to be seen if he can put it all together at cornerback, but it sounds like he's going to get a chance. And speed, athleticism and physicality are all traits that will serve him well at corner.

Fangio said he likes the way Ringo has worked since getting passed over for a starting spot. He didn't hang his head or mope around. He just kept grinding.

I think he's handled it very well," Fangio said Tuesday. It didn't affect his role as a special teamer, which he's one of the top ones in the league.

I think he knows that, eventually, he'll get a shot, for some reason whatsoever, and he'll be ready."