Eagles safety Rodney McLeod would like to play in the Baltimore preseason game | Early Birds
McLeod has been getting closer and closer to full practice.
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There was a hefty list of Eagles who weren’t quite ready for full practice when training camp began last week. Five workouts and six days in, that list hasn’t changed, but starting safety Rodney McLeod might be the closest to being fully cleared.
McLeod, 29, underwent season-ending knee surgery after Game 3 last year, and he has gradually increased his level of participation in camp. This week, he has worked in 7-on-7 as well as in individual drills.
“Today was good. I had a chance to get out there with some of those guys, get back to competing, try to get my feet back under me, and prepare for the season,” McLeod said after the camp’s most intense practice, which also was just the second in pads and the first with tackling to the ground. Wednesday will be lighter, but Thursday, the pads will go back on.
“Not too many bad days, which is good,” McLeod said when asked about the knee. “It’s good for [doctors and trainers] to hear in the training room. As I continue to come back, let them know how I’m feeling; they continue to add more reps. ... I’m excited, just ready to get out there and fly around.”
McLeod said he feels that after seven NFL seasons, he can start the regular season without playing in the preseason if he has to, but “in my heart, I’d like to get out there.”
McLeod said he is aiming for the Aug. 22 home preseason game against the Ravens, which is the third exhibition, usually the one in which starters see the most action.
“You treat that game like an actual regular-season game, so I’m looking forward to that," he said. "... We’ll just see.”
McLeod agreed to rework his contract, which originally would have paid him $7.5 million this season and expired after 2020. Now, he’ll make just $3 million this season, and another million if he appears in all 16 games, but he’ll become a free agent next spring. It’s the kind of deal you agree to if you are confident you will come back strong.
“I’ve been working hard, man, this offseason,” said McLeod, who entered the NFL as an undrafted Rams rookie in 2012.
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— Les Bowen (earlybirds@inquirer.com)
Numbers game
When the Eagles signed veteran cornerback and longtime Dallas Cowboy Orlando Scandrick, they gave him No. 45. There already is a No. 45, long snapper Rick Lovato. This is OK in the preseason, when teams have 90 players and duplicates are allowed, as long as the identical jerseys don’t take the field at the same time. But Scandrick will need a new number if he makes the team, Lovato said Tuesday.
“Hell no,” Lovato said when asked if he would let Scandrick have 45. “I gotta put my foot down on SOMETHIN'!”
The Schwartz was with us
Reporters who cover the Eagles know there are two Jim Schwartz press-conference modes: Expansive Schwartz, when the defensive coordinator is willing to go into great detail in answering questions, often employing baseball analogies, and Snippy Schwartz, when the DC seems to take issue with each question and tries to parry as much as explain.
Tuesday was something of a Snippy Schwartz day, with occasional forays back into Expansive Schwartz.
Schwartz was asked about the success in getting to the quarterback this week of 2018 practice-squad defensive end Joe Ostman. (Of course, defenders don’t tackle quarterbacks except in games.)
“Let’s [wait] until you can actually get the quarterback,” Schwartz said. Then he grudgingly acknowledged that Ostman is doing well and that he also works hard on special teams. You can read more about Ostman here.
What you need to know about the Eagles:
Here’s where you can find our podcast, it’s cool.
Who stood out and who didn’t at training camp Tuesday? Jeff McLane offers his observations.
No regrets: Columnist Mike Sielski writes about how a speech at Stanford resonated with tight end Zach Ertz and how it has affected his approach to the sport, and life.
Let’s take a few moments, columnist David Murphy writes, to give Carson Wentz the hype that he isn’t getting for some reason.
All-Pro defensive tackle Fletcher Cox was dressed fully for practice Tuesday but didn’t participate, again, in any team work. Cox is one of more than a half-dozen rehabbing Eagles who are being eased slowly back from major injuries and surgery, Paul Domowitch writes.
From the mailbag
If the Eagles were to be watching other teams’ roster moves, what position(s) do you think they’d target? — A Andrew W., via Twitter.
Well, Andrew, they’ve brought in two corners during the first week of camp, Alex Brown and Scandrick. That tells you something, probably that they are a little nervous about getting all the returnees healthy and back in the swing. Currently, Jalen Mills and Cre’Von LeBlanc are sidelined with foot injuries and Ronald Darby (knee) isn’t a full participant.
Other than corner, I’d say safety, but I’m really not sure any team is going to cut a guy who would make a difference there. Andrew Sendejo might have a lot of good points, but deep coverage so far does not seem to be one of them.