Eagles: Forget the “Defending Champion”
Philadelphia — The Philadelphia Eagles begin the 2025 season with a clear mindset: to leave behind the memory of their recent Super Bowl success. Terms like “defending champions” and “repeat” have been discarded.This is how Jordan Mailata expressed it, after the team’s first training session on Wednesday. “I don’t like hearing that we are the defending champions. We just won the title and now we have to win it again, prove it again. That is the mentality that this team will have. We are not here to prove anything to anyone other than ourselves and we know the mission. We are focused on the mission.” This message is being conveyed both inside and outside the team. Jalen Hurts, spent time this offseason with Michael Jordan, who advised the Eagles quarterback to avoid the word “repeat” when starting the new campaign.We are the 2024 world champions, that’s all. We are not defending anything.
Jordan Mailata, Eagles Left Tackle
The motivation after a title can vary among players. A.J. Brown, for example, claims to believe he is the best receiver in the game and plans to “make his mark” this year. Avoiding distractions is not easy, the Eagles received their Super Bowl rings on Friday at an event in Philadelphia, so the emphasis on staying focused on the task at hand has been very strong.It’s a new journey. It’s a new season and those things are far behind. The past is behind and the future is too far away, so we have to be present and worry about the now.
Jalen Hurts
There are many steps to take and daily work to be done. Every year, training camp feels the same. You don’t look back, you don’t look forward, you just focus on today and how we can improve today.
Nick Sirianni, Coach
