Maryland

Eagles Continue to ‘Take It Slow' With Alshon Jeffery

He's not injured, according to Doug Pederson.

He's just not totally healthy.
 
Or something like that.
 
Alshon Jeffery, the centerpiece of the Eagles' offseason retool, missed a good chunk of training camp, didn't play in the preseason opener against the Packers, finally got some work in 11-on-11 drills on Monday but is still limited at practice and remains unsure if he'll play this Thursday night against the Bills.
 
After hurting his shoulder on the first full-team day of practice back in July, he was on the sideline for most of training camp before finally working in more the last couple days.
 
"I'm not terribly concerned," quarterback Carson Wentz said. "I just kind of rely on what we've done all offseason, the summer throwing, all those things, but hopefully we can get him back here going more and more before Week 1."
 
Pederson said he hasn't decided when - or if - Jeffery will be a full participant at practice.
 
"I'm taking it slow," Pederson said. "I'm taking it slow with him. It's day by day. Right now, it's in the best interest not only for us but for him, making sure he's 100 percent.
 
"I just want to make sure he's healthy. We're not playing for a while. Just want to give him plenty of rest."

But why Jeffery? It's not like he's one of the older guys on the team. He turned 27 earlier this year. Meanwhile, guys like Jason Peters and Darren Sproles, the two oldest position players on the roster at 35 and 34, haven't missed a day of practice this summer.
 
"Everybody's case by case," Pederson said. "It's individual by individual. This is the best interest for him."
 
Jeffery hasn't said much during this camp, but he did say after practice on Monday that he hopes to play Thursday night.

"I would like to," he said. "But at the same time, we'll see. … We'll see."
 
The Eagles open the regular season in 26 days against the Redskins in Landover, Md.
 
"Feel pretty good," Jeffery said. "(Need to) get back and smooth some things out. But feel pretty good."
 
Jeffery, who got a lot of work against newly acquired corner Ronald Darby at practice on Monday, got extra work in with Wentz after practice.
 
"It's all about getting better," Jeffery said. "We're trying to make each other better, trying to win a championship."

 Three years ago, Chip Kelly took it very slowly with Jeremy Maclin a year after he tore his ACL in training camp, and Maclin responded with the best season of his career - 85 catches for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns.
 
"Alshon's situation kind of reminds me of Maclin coming back from his ACL," Zach Ertz said. "He didn't play in that first preseason game.
 
"We're hoping to get Alshon back out here as soon as possible. Whenever he's healthy he'll be out here. He's put in the work all offseason, so we know the type of player he is.
 
"He went to North Dakota with Carson so they're obviously on the same page. They've got a good chemistry. The good thing about Alshon is that his catch radius is so big, it's not going to take much to get him open."

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