Eagles Rumors

The running back has been traded to the Arizona Cardinals.  In return, the Birds get CB Jorrick Calvin.

Calvin is also a rookie and also a sixth round pick.  Calvin played his college ball at Troy.

It’s too late in the pre-season for him to make much of an impact on the coaching staff here.  Expect him to be thrown on the practice squad at best.

Update (11:24 AM) — It was a cyst, which has been surgically removed.  Ingram will not travel to KC.  But at this point IR no longer seems necessary (making the team is another story).

Cornelius Ingram had to sit out all of 2009 thanks to a less-than-satisfactory recovery from a knee surgery he had while still in college which led to another surgery.

It looks like 2010 could be lost as well.  Ingram has not been healthy at camp this year, and he was scheduled to have an MRI taken yesterday.  Andy Reid chose his words carefully, but there’s little room for optimism for a guy with Ingram’s injury history.

Your week one starter at LDE might just end up being the rookie, as Brandon Graham is scheduled to spend time with the first team defense.  Players will be available after practice to the media, so it will be interesting to hear Graham’s take on his perceived promotion.

This could be short-lived, but the obvious move here seems to be making JP the third-down pass rush specialist.

Sunday was an important day at Eagles’ practice, and not just for the return to the NovaCare Complex.  Todd Herremans and Jamaal Jackson were once again on the practice field participating with the first-teamers.  It was very brief for Jackson, but still a very positive sign for the thirty year-old center.

Jackson still seems anything but probable for the opener on September 12th.  But if he’s able to play for some time in the final pre-season game you have to think he has a chance.

Herremans, on the other hand, is full steam ahead.  The staff will be monitoring his leg, but moving forward he should be involved in practice every day and participate in this weekend’s game with the first team.

That was Asante Samuel’s only words to reporters after he left practice with a hamstring injury on Tuesday.

Old is what Samuel’s act is getting to us, probably most fans, and we’d bet the coaching staff for the Eagles as well.  He sat out a significant portion of early training camp with one of those “injuries” that veterans sometimes get when days are too hot and two-a-days sound pretty awful.  Whether that’s affected his conditioning we can’t say.

But hamstring injuries are often the result of poor conditioning and poor stretching.  There’s little sympathy for an injured player who wasn’t putting in all the work he could before the injury.  That’s our perception of things with Samuel.  And sure, he’s not going anywhere and the Birds sure have to cross their fingers this guy stays healthy, but at this point you’ve got to wonder whether it’s too early to start looking down the road for his replacement.

The good stuff first.  Jamaal Jackson and Todd Herremans have been taken off the PUP list.  Not that surprising for Herremans, who the coaches had always insisted was just being treated gently so he could be completely healthy for the season.

But a different story for Jackson.  There’s no way he would have been taken off the PUP list this early unless he was able to participate in practices in some form.  Being taken off the PUP list means you are either going to be on the roster or you’re going to be placed on IR, and there’s no reason to take him off PUP this early if IR was in the discussion.  Things are looking good for Jamaal.  Doesn’t mean he’ll be starting week 1, but positive nonetheless.

In other news, Mike Bell just can’t stay healthy this summer.  He’s now suffering from a calf strain which will keep him out at least a couple of days.  Getting Bell healthy and working in this offense, learning the subtleties is important if he’s to have a serious role this season.

It looks like the first-team offense will play the entire first quarter of tonight’s game.  It will be pretty bland stuff, surely.  And judgments rendered will certainly be taken way too seriously.  But there’s finally a football game where someone is keeping score!  We’re so ready for this.

On the offensive side, we’re really paying attention to a few guys.  Mike McGlynn is starting at center with Nick Cole hurt.  He’s been impressing in camp and might have a shot at unseating Cole as Jamaal Jackson’s placeholder.

LeSean McCoy was an impressive but flawed rookie last season.  We’d like to see how he improves his running between the tackles, his decisiveness, and his ball handling.

Cornelius Ingram doesn’t seem to be having such a great camp.  He should see action tonight, and a play or two that stands out could do the guy some good.  There’s a chance he doesn’t even make the team.

On the defensive side there’s a whole lot going on, with so many guys playing certain roles together for the first time.  Nate Allen, Stewart Bradley’s return, Ellis Hobbs/Joselio Hanson, Darryl Tapp, Brandon Graham.  There’s a lot to see out there when the defense is on the field.

This weekend saw the return of DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin to practice, with Omar Gaither and Cornelius Ingram not far behind.  The Birds are ramping things up as the Friday night “opener” against Jacksonville approaches.

The Eagles appear to be testing out the flexibility of Moises Fokou and Daniel Te’o Nesheim, both of whom have been hopping around between positions all camp.  It will be interesting to see what these two in particular do on Friday night, as most of the starters will obviously be very limited.

While the daily review of who the Eagles walking wounded can certainly be discouraging, it’s important to remember there’s still well over a month before the season opens.  The coaching/training staff is taking it easy on guys with injuries big and small.

There’s little to gain from rushing any of these guys back, even with some new personnel around them.

Stewart Bradley is involved in some team activities, but is given time off from others.  The Eagles prefer not to push his repaired knee too hard before September.

DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin both have minor injuries that are likely to completely heal with a couple of weeks off.  You don’t want to go into the season with a lingering issue.  This is the right move.

Scary moment at practice today — it actually ended practice — Jeremy Maclin had to be carted off and limped into the locker room.

The Eagles have stated it’s a hyperextended knee, which is a relief but could keep him sidelined for quite a bit of time.