News, moves and practice highlights

TRAINING CAMP DIARY

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TUESDAY, JULY 27

It’s reporting day. There is no practice on this day, although there is a conditioning test that will determine where players are physically and whether any of them won’t be ready for on-field work and will need to start off on the Physically Unable to Perform list — also known as PUP.

Those anwers will come Wednesday morning.

The last order of contract business is taken care of on this morning, as second-round pick Liam Eichenberg signs his rookie contract.

He becomes the seventh and final 2021 draft pick to sign his contract, after fellow second-round pick Jevon Holland had signed four days earlier and third-round pick Hunter Long had signed the day before.

Running back Myles Gaskin, defensive tackle Christian Wilkins and linebacker Jerome Baker all follow head coach Brian Flores in talking to the media at the brand-new Baptist Health Training Complex.

All three talk about looking to get better in every area, and Gaskin is asked specifically whether he thought the team would take a running back in the 2020 NFL draft.

“No, that’s above my pay grade,” Gaskin says. “I just take care of myself.”

The big news of the day comes at night with Xavien Howard’s explosive Instagram post in which he outlines his unhappiness with his situation and requests a trade.

It’s not a great way to end Day 1, to say the least.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 28

It’s the first day of practice, and it begins with four players on PUP: Wide receivers DeVante Parker and Preston Williams, guard/tackle D.J. Fluker and linebacker Elandon Roberts.