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It’s been two offseasons since Malcolm Jenkins left the Philadelphia Eagles. A lot has changed, but one man has stayed the same: Rodney McLeod.
The reliable veteran safety — hard to believe he’ll turn 31 in June, right? — has endured a coaching change and tons of turnover in the secondary. And McLeod is rehabbing from his second major knee surgery in three seasons after tearing another ACL (different knees) last December in Week 13.
The team captain has been posting photos and videos of his recovery on Instagram while promising he’ll be ready to return for the season opener on Sept. 12. On Wednesday, McLeod updated his progress in a post-practice chat with the media. All signs are trending up.
“I’m just extremely confident in the work I’m putting in, progress has been great from week to week, month to month,” McLeod told reporters. “I want to be available for my team, not for only eight games but for all 17.
“And so that is my motivation. For me, I have all intentions on being there in Week 1. At the end of the day, you have to listen to your body and everyone around me, but I’m grinding around the clock to be available for my team.”
The Eagles signed Anthony Harris in the offseason to pair with McLeod in what could be a pretty terrifying safety tandem. The two guys were brief teammates at the University of Virginia where McLeod mentored Harris as a “big bro.” Harris eventually took over the starting spot when McLeod left school for the NFL.
“I was super excited when he [Harris] hit me up and when he got the word that he was coming [to Philly],” McLeod said. “And we’ve been building [the relationship] since he got here.”
Interestingly enough, McLeod also has an existing relationship with new defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson. The former NFL safety mentored McLeod in high school as defensive backs coach at DeMatha High (Maryland). They reunited in 2012 when Wilson was a defensive quality control coach for the St. Louis Rams.
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McLeod Questioned Career After ACL Tear
There was a moment, as he was writhing in pain on the turf at Lincoln Financial Field, when McLeod thought his professional football career might be over. It was hard enough coming back from that first ACL tear in 2018, but two in three years? Impossible. His mind was going into a dark place until he saw the outpouring of support from his family and friends. Oh, and all those Eagles fans.
“That really reminded me of who I am and my character and what I stand for and who I’m doing it for,” McLeod said. “So quickly I moved on and committed myself to this workout and the rehab process so now I’m about five months out and feeling good, and just going to continue to work and take it one day at a time.”
One other factor has been motivating him as well. The enthusiasm and energy from the new coaching staff. McLeod said he feels like a rookie all over again.
“I look at it like an audition all over again,” McLeod said. “I have to prove myself again, which I often do every single year. I live in that mindset, but I think this helps out a little bit more because they [coaching staff] don’t know me. They are getting to know me, but I want to go out there and prove myself and prove I am who I am.”
‘We’re Going to Win a Lot of Games’
The safeties look better on paper this year. What about the cornerback spot? The Eagles are poised to go into the season — barring last-minute outreach to Steven Nelson — with Darius Slay and Avonte Maddox starting on the outside, with rookie Zech McPhearson competing for the nickel job. The team made a point to bring in hybrids, guys that switch between safety and cornerback (maybe linebacker: JaCoby Stevens). McLeod likes the depth and sees a hungry group.
“We like the group that we have and that extends out to the cornerbacks as well,” McLeod said. “Darius Slay and Avonte [Maddox], and you have some younger guys over there, Mike Jacquet, K’Von [Wallace], the list kind of goes on.
“I’m looking forward to building with this new group, the identity that we’re going to create here, the memories that we’re going to create, and I’m saying we’re going to win a lot of games with the secondary that we have.”
Win a lot of games. That’s a huge vote of confidence for a very inexperienced group, one that Slay was quick to second.
“We’re going to be great,” Slay said. “I believe in the guys in the room. Shoot, the [coaching] staff do, too. So we are just looking forward to the season and we’re going to compete.”
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