Next Eagles defender to land in Vic Fangio’s doghouse is painfully clear

The Vic Fangio doghouse is very real. Just ask Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Cooper DeJean.

Was DeJean one of the Eagles’ best 11 players on defense entering the 2024 season? Of course he was. But he picked up an unfortunate hamstring injury while training in Iowa over the summer, was limited to individual drills at the beginning of training camp, and wound up waiting until Week 6 of the regular season to log his first NFL start.

That’s what you can expect from Fangio, whose old-school approach as defensive coordinator served the Eagles well in 2024. The best day-in, day-out performers get on the field, regardless of service time or contract status. A prime example in Thursday night’s season opener against the Dallas Cowboys was rookie Andrew Mukuba getting the start at safety over third-year pro Sydney Brown.

It’s only one game, but with Fangio, the snap-count chart speaks volumes.

And through that lens, Thursday night was a bad sign for Kelee Ringo, Philly’s fourth-round draft pick in 2023 who entered camp this summer as the frontrunner for the starting job at No. 2 cornerback.

Philadelphia Eagles CB Kelee Ringo is trending down after seeing 0 snaps in Week 1 vs. the Dallas Cowboys 

There was positive buzz around Ringo during spring OTAs, but the shine wore off quickly once the pads came on in August.

The 23-year-old had a golden opportunity to prove himself during Philly’s first preseason game, with the Cincinnati Bengals opting to play their first-team offense. But a series of reps against superstar WR Ja’Marr Chase were uncompetitive. Chase smoked Ringo for 59 yards, two first downs and a touchdown, per Pro Football Focus, and wound up finishing the preseason with a 158.3 passer rating against when targeted. 

Ringo now finds himself buried on the Eagles depth chart. He played behind veteran Adoree’ Jackson, as expected. More telling was Fangio turning to Jakorian Bennett — a player that joined the roster barely a month ago — during a two-minute situation late in the first half while Jackson was getting checked for concussion symptoms.