Eagles' CB2 competition heats up even more ahead of preseason finale vs. Vikings

The Philadelphia Eagles' cornerback No. 2 competition is heating up even more as the Birds prepare for their preseason finale against the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday, Aug. 24.

The starting job opposite Darius Slay has been the talk of the summer and it's come down to veteran Isaiah Rodgers and second-year corner Kelee Ringo .

The two have been going head-to-head all summer, but according to ESPN's Tim McManus , Rodgers is currently winning the battle:

The battle for the outside corner spot opposite Darius Slay Jr. between former Indianapolis Colt Isaiah Rodgers and second-year player Kelee Ringo has been a good one. While they continue to split reps, Rodgers has been getting the nod at the start of practice more frequently of late and can probably be considered the front-runner at this point.

That doesn't mean Ringo is out of the running just yet.

It also doesn't mean they won't split reps during the season considering how Vic Fangio runs his defense, so either way, Ringo is on tap for a larger workload this season even if he loses the initial starting job to Rodgers.

The Eagles also have rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, who has taken first-team reps on the outside as well, but Fangio wants him at nickel for now.

That's in part due to the fact that fellow rookie Cooper DeJean is easing his way back in from a hamstring injury and because Mitchell simply has done a good job in the slot over anyone else.

The great thing about this close cornerback battle and having so many options is that it's such a beautiful "problem" to have considering how things looked and crumbled last year.

We'll have a better understanding of the depth chart following Saturday's game, but until then, Fangio isn't concerned about naming a starter.

“Usually when you have battles going on and it's time to make a decision, the players make the decision for you, and everybody sees it,” Fangio said. “It's rare that it's so tight that everybody is waiting for who the coaches pick. It becomes obvious. Hopefully, it will become obvious here - through somebody's really good play and not somebody's bad play. So, it will define itself out.”

Related: Eagles DC Vic Fangio raves about rookie CB Quinyon Mitchell and his bright NFL future