What Kelee Ringo wants to work on after promising rookie season

What Kelee Ringo wants to work on after promising rookie season originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

There weren’t many Eagles who got better as the 2023 went on and ended with a collapse.

Kelee Ringo was one of them.

The Eagles’ fourth-round pick out of Georgia played a grand total of one defensive snap through the first 12 weeks of the season but showed enough promise over the stretch run to make you think he could have a really bright future.

“I just continued to try to stay ready the entire year,” Ringo said a couple days after his rookie season ended. “And the best thing I could do was work on myself so when the time did come, I would be ready. That’s the simplest way to explain it. I thought I would be doing myself a disservice if I wasn’t training like I was playing every single week, even if I wasn’t.”

After barely playing on defense through 12 weeks, Ringo played 198 snaps in the last five games and took over as a starter as Darius Slay missed time after needing a minor knee surgery.

In the playoffs, Slay returned but Ringo didn’t completely lose his role. Because of the struggles of James Bradberry, Ringo found himself in a rotation in the playoff game in Tampa and still played 35 snaps.

Even though Slay and Bradberry are under contract in 2024, it’s hard to imagine Bradberry returning after a dismal 2023 season. The Eagles still have to go through free agency and the draft, but it’s not crazy to think that Ringo has a shot to be a starter in his second NFL season.

And he thinks there’s a chance for a bigger role.

“Yessir,” Ringo said. “Most definitely.”

What does Ringo want to improve most this offseason?

“I would say my mental game,” he answered. “Just have the game slow down even more than it has been.”

Ringo said he wants to spend a good bit of time this offseason studying his reps and going over coverages. The Eagles have a new defensive coordinator in 2024 so he’ll have a newish scheme to learn as…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/kelee-ringo-wants-promising-rookie-135453672.html

Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia

Publish date : 2024-02-02 14:47:08

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