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Carson Wentz was once again a spectator at Tuesday’s practice. Don’t read too much into it.
The Eagles’ starting quarterback is expected to be ready for Week 1, according to his head coach. Wentz was wearing a fashionable black bucket hat, along with his new MLK armband, and took some snaps during warm-ups. He didn’t participate in any team or individual drills.
The team wants to be extra cautious with the face of the franchise with less than two weeks to the season opener in Washington. He’s officially listed “day to day” with an undisclosed “lower-body” injury rumored to be a soft tissue ailment.
“What Carson is working through right now is nothing major. It’s minor. It’s day-to-day,” Doug Pederson told reporters. “This is really a good time for him to really rest, for the majority of our starters, to kind of rest and prepare themselves for next week. I have no issues of where Carson is, where he’s headed. He’ll be ready to go.”
The Eagles have a handful of guys on the shelf and the following players all missed Tuesday’s practice: Jalen Reagor (upper body), Lane Johnson (lower body), Miles Sanders (lower body), Vinny Curry (lower body), Javon Hargrave (upper body), Genard Avery (lower body), Andre Dillard (upper body), Quez Watkins (upper body), and Derek Barnett (lower body).
Hargrave and Barnett are among the more serious of the walking wounded, along with Reagor (listed “week to week”) who reportedly has a torn labrum (left shoulder) and will miss three to four weeks. J.J. Arcega-Whiteside will likely man the X receiver spot in Week 1 with Reagor out.
“I’m very comfortable with J.J.,” Pederson said of Arcega-Whiteside. “I think he’s worked well with Carson. Carson is understanding him better this year, having worked now more I would say exclusively together.”
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‘Chance’ Alshon Jeffery Returns in September
There is a report floating around that Alshon Jeffery could be ready to return from his Lisfranc injury (foot) in September, maybe as soon as Week 2 or Week 3. Pederson didn’t want to put a timetable on a return for the starting receiver but he admitted “there’s always a chance.”
“There’s always a chance. I’m not going to put a timetable on Alshon,” Pederson said. “I want to make sure he’s obviously 100-percent or 105-percent if that’s such a thing before we put him out there. He’s working extremely hard. He wants to be out there.”
Jeffery’s absence, combined with the loss of Reagor, could lead to more snaps for rookie John Hightower who flashed consistently during padded practices. Hightower had a few highlight-reel plays in Sunday’s live scrimmage, including a nifty touchdown catch on a hitch route from Jalen Hurts. He could be in line for a starting spot.
“Hightower has had a good camp,” Pederson said. “The one thing with him right now is just game experience, right? He’s a rookie, a first-year player.”
Update on Eagles’ Running Back Competition
All signs have been pointing to Elijah Holyfield winning the fourth running back spot on the 53-man roster. However, don’t count out Adrian Killins.
The shifty, diminutive Darren Sproles’ clone from UCF has done everything the Eagles have asked of him, including playing wide receiver and returning punts. His track-star speed — 4.39 seconds in the 40 — has to be too tempting to throw on the scrap heap.
“He’s one of the players that I think has kind of caught our eye a little bit,” Pederson said. “We had him at receiver, then running back, or vice versa, running back, receiver, now back to running back. Someone that’s come in and really done a nice job that way.”
He’s up against Holyfield and Michael Warren for the final rushing spot. There’s a chance that Killins wins a spot somewhere, even if the Eagles decide to keep four other rushers: Holyfield, Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, Corey Clement. The latter has looked as good as ever, maybe the best since his breakout Super Bowl year in 2017.
“Corey Clement, has worked really hard to bounce back from the injuries he has had,” Pederson said, “and he looks really good, strong, in a good position there.”
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