The Eagles looked sharp against the Bengals on Thursday night, and after a raucous open training camp practice, the Birds are preparing for an intense two-day joint practice session with the Cleveland Browns. The session will feature teams heading in two different trajectories, as Philadelphia is looking to repeat as Super Bowl champions. At the same time, Cleveland has five quarterbacks under contract, and the shadow of rookie sensation Shedeur Sanders is looming over the franchise.

With the two joint practice sessions set to kick off, we’re looking at five storylines to watch over the two days.

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Super Bowl champion returns.

Kenny Pickett was traded to the Browns for Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and he’ll return ot the NovaCare Complex as a Super Bowl champion, engulfed in an intense quarterback battle.

Shedeur Sanders’ spotlight will hover over two days and the game.

Will quarterback Shedeur Sanders get some reps with the No. 1 offense this week as the Browns hold joint practices with the Philadelphia Eagles? When asked about it, head coach Kevin Stefanski was noncommittal. Both Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel have been dealing with hamstring injuries for at least the last week. Pickett has been limited in practice since Aug. 1 after missing three sessions, while Gabriel has been limited since Aug. 4 when Stefanski first indicated the rookie was dealing with tightness. Sanders was 14-of-23 for 138 yards with two touchdowns and a 106.8 passer rating, and will face the best defense in the NFL over two days.

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Browns tight end reunites with his college head coach.

Cleveland drafted Harold Fannin Jr., and he’ll head to Philadelphia, where he’ll see his former head coach and Eagles QB coach Scot Loeffler. Fannin comes into his rookie season after a record-setting junior year at Bowling Green. He caught 117 passes for 1,555 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, leading the NCAA in receptions and receiving yards.

Kevin Stefanski returns home.

The Browns previously traveled to Philadelphia for two days of joint practices in 2023. Stefanski and Eagles coach Nick Sirianni are longtime friends and colleagues. A Philadelphia native and son of former Sixers general manager Ed Stefanski, the Browns head coach was a three-year starter at St. Joe’s Prep and an all-Ivy League safety at the University of Penn.

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Familiar foe

This is the third time these two teams have met since Nick Sirianni was hired. The previous two years, the Browns held practices with the Eagles, traveling to Philadelphia in 2023 and hosting the Eagles in 2022 for two practices at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus.

This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: 5 storylines to watch in Eagles’ joint practice with the Browns