Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Rodgers ready to resume celebration
PHILADELPHIA >> The first sweet note that Richard Rodgers hit with the Eagles was actually his last memory.
“Things were going well,” the veteran tight end said Friday. “Then someone landed on my leg when I fell and caught that touchdown in New England. It just happened to be a freak accident.”
It came during an exhibition loss to the Patriots in the Eagles’ second preseason game. With Brent Celek retiring and Trey Burton signing in the offseason in Chicago, the Eagles had signed Rodgers in April after he spent four years with the Packers. But the backup tight end out of Cal took his bad luck in stride.
“It’s not really frustration,” he said. “With football, if you talk to some people around the NFL, the injury rate is 100 percent. So I guess it was just my turn to get hurt. I don’t think it’s frustration. I’m just taking it day by day.”
Rodgers’ first regular season game day with the Eagles should finally arrive Sunday in New Orleans. The Birds used one of their two allowable designations for return from Injured Reserve on Rodgers. To make room for him on the 53-man roster they dispatched depth tight end Josh Perkins to IR.
Rodgers, 26, had 13 touchdowns among his 120 catches over four seasons with the Green Bay Packers. He also was a guy who showed up to work just about every day.
“I missed one game in my career, the last game of last year,” Rodgers said. “So I haven’t played a game in a while, I guess.”
His role with the Pack diminished somewhat over the last two years, however, and he came to Philadelphia with the hope of again becoming an offensive weapon. As it stands now, he probably won’t be taking many touches away from star starter Zach Ertz or top 2018 draft pick Dallas Goedert. But Rodgers is a significant upgrade on Goedert as a blocker, reason enough for a weary Carson Wentz and the Eagles to strike up the kind of good feelings about his return that Rodgers had left behind on that field in New England.
“I got up, and I celebrated,” Rodgers said of his touchdown catch in that preseason game. “And I got back to the bench feeling fine. Then my knee kind of tightened up and I had to get carted off or whatever and get an MRI.”
It showed a partially torn posterior cruciate ligament, but there was some good news that came with the diagnosis.
“I’m just glad I didn’t have to get surgery,” Rodgers said. “It’s never good to get hurt. Obviously you don’t want it to happen. But like I said, there’s always a possibility of getting hurt playing this game. So I don’t look at it as a negative thing. I look at it as an opportunity to come back in and prove what I can do.”
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On the Friday injury report, no surprise that running back Darren Sproles is listed as out for the Saints game. On the outs list he joins cornerbacks Ronald Darby (knee, out for the season) and Jalen Mills, which should kind of fire up all-world veteran QB Drew Brees a bit.
Offensive tackle Lane Johnson and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, both suffering with knee problems, are listed as questionable.
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NOTES >> With Rodgers in the fold, it leaves the Eagles with one designation for an IR return. That’s expected to be used on either receiver Mack Hollins or Mike Wallace . ... Perkins, who had been serving as the Birds’ third tight end, suffered what was considered a serious knee injury against Dallas and his season is likely over, according to coach Doug Pederson. Perkins had five catches for 67 yards this season . ... Pederson would not say whether he’d bring defensive tackle Tim Jernigan onto the active roster Saturday by the 4 p.m. deadline. But he did reference Jernigan, out all year with back issues, and say he’s “still optimistic . ... It’s kind of day by day.” As for injured cornerback Sidney Jones (hamstring), Pederson said he’s in “a little better situation” as far as his chances of playing against the Saints . ... One player who would welcome Jones back is his backup, Rasul Douglas, who called Jones, “a great player. He brings a lot to this team; energy, can make plays. So it’s definitely good to have him back, especially when we’re playing a team like that.” A team like that would be the Saints, described by Douglas as a team that can “score every time they get the ball.”