Nigel Bradham will be on the field for the Eagles in Week 1, but the linebacker wasn't always certain that would be the case.
"There was a point in time where I didn't really know," Bradham said following Wednesday's practice.
Bradham wasn't listed on the Eagles' first official injury report of the season, removing any doubt he'll be ready to go against Washington this Sunday. But while rehabbing from surgery to repair torn ligaments in his big toe, the eighth-year veteran was concerned he wouldn't be ready by opening day.
"That was more so early on," Bradham said, "but as time went on and I started to put pressure on it and get out of the boot, and keep doing the treatment and rehabbing and continue to build strength in it, I started getting more and more confident."
It only recently became clear Bradham would be good to go for the opener when he started participating in practices.
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"I'd probably say about two weeks ago," Bradham said. "I definitely felt a lot more confident just being out in practice. I started out limited, doing individuals, working on my cuts and things like that, so that pretty much just gave me more confidence as time went on and I kept building off of that."
Despite his own doubts, Bradham said the Eagles had a plan in place.
"It was all on a timeline," Bradham said. "Our training staff did a tremendous job with the guidelines of getting me ready, keeping me on a schedule, not overdoing it some days to where I'm tremendously sore. They kept it at a fine line and then putting the workload on me at the right time and seeing if I was able to handle it, which I was able to do."
Bradham - who celebrated his 30th birthday on Wednesday - never really dealt with such a serious injury, having never missed more than five games in a season during his NFL career.
His injury history, while obviously a positive, may have contributed to those fears earlier in his rehab.
"It was my first time ever having that experience so it was a lot different for me," said Bradham. Throughout my whole career I've pretty much been healthy so to have something where at one point where I couldn't even put any pressure on my foot and being on a scooter and all that type of stuff, it was different.
"My kids seemed to like it a little bit. They at least liked riding on the scooter, but other than that, it was a grind for sure."
Now that he has the green light, Bradham should like right back into his spot at middle linebacker for Week 1. He's not anticipating any rust or the need to work his way into "game shape," either, despite missing the Eagles' entire offseason program, training camp and preseason.
"The game speed, you really only get it from the game," said Bradham. "None of the starters really play in the preseason. That's just what it is. That's just the way it goes.
"I was at one point doing the conditioning test every day, so I'm in peak condition. That's not my concern."
Bradham also said he feels back to his normal self, but is itching to tackle somebody for the first time since January.
"I've got a lot of pressure built up," said Bradham.
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