Smith (knee) upgraded to day-to-day; return this week possible
PHILADELPHIA >> Nick Sirianni left the door open for wide receiver DeVonta Smith to participate in the joint practices with the New England Patriots Monday and Tuesday.
Smith was upgraded from week-to-week to day-to-day on the injury report. The Eagles’ firstround draft pick out of Alabama sprained an MCL on the third day of practices but has been doing individual work and taking mental reps watching his teammates work.
It’s not out of the question to see Smith get on the field when the Eagles host the Patriots Thursday night.
“I don’t want to put a timetable as far as if he’ll be ready for Thursday,” Sirianni said. “I don’t know yet. So he’s working hard to get back, and our trainers and
our strength staff is doing a great job of bringing him back. So, he’s day to day and look forward to seeing him out there in practice soon.”
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The Eagles had two distinguished visitors at camp Saturday.
One was Julie Ertz, midfielder on the U.S. women’s team that took bronze at the Japan Olympics. She’s the spouse of Eagles tight end Zach Ertz.
Julie Ertz said the strict COVID-19 protocols at the Olympics impacted the experience but that all things considered, the U.S. could be proud of bouncing back from a pair of losses for a medal. Julie and Zach Ertz both are sporting the blonde look.
The other visitor was Mike McCoy, a long-time offensive coordinator who was 27-37 as head coach of the San Diego Chargers from 2013-16.
McCoy is buds with Sirianni and Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, who were on his staff with the Chargers, as well as Colts head coach Frank Reich, who was Sirianni’s previous boss.
“I always respected how much Mike paid attention to situations,” Sirianni said. “There’s so many situations that pop up in a game, and I’m not just talking about third down. I’m not talking about red zone. Yes, I’m including those two-minute backed up, four-minute. And he always, always, always, spent a ton of time talking about those things and practicing those things and walking through those things. And it made us a smarter football team.”
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Veteran LeRaven Clark, the fallback plan if Jordan Mailata and Andre Dillard whiff at left tackle, was activated from the PUP list and practiced Saturday.
Clark (6-5, 311) is coming off an Achilles’ tendon injury. He started 15 of 47 games that he was active for with the Colts, who took the Texas Tech product off the board in the third round of the 2016 draft. From the 36 1/8inch arm length to the 11 7/8-inch hands, Clark has eye-popping measurables.
The Eagles cut wide receiver Adrian Killins and tight end Caleb Wilson.
That leaves them with 89 players on the active roster, and four more cuts to reach the 85-man limit by Tuesday. There’s another cut to 80 on Aug. 24, with the cut to 53 on Aug. 31.
Teams again will have 53 roster spots and 16 practice squad slots this season.
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Rookie running back Kenny Gainwell had two rushes for 14 yards and two receptions for 18 yards in the Eagles’ preseason opener.
But it was the block he laid on a pass rusher that had the Eagles’ coaching staff gushing over the fifthround pick out of Memphis.
“As we watched it in the coaches’ meeting, they were, like, ‘oooh, that one hurt. That slowed that guy down the next time,’” Sirianni said. “So it was good to see the physical play. Kenny also slipped a tackle. The guy had him wrapped up. You just saw how strong he is in the lower body. So, although it wasn’t as many running plays as we normally would do, it was still a great tool to evaluate.”