In his press conference on Friday before the Eagles travel to Tennessee, head coach Doug Pederson offered some insight into the injury safety Rodney McLeod suffered last week against the Colts.
"I can confirm that he did have surgery but out of respect for Rodney I will not get into the details of the surgery," Pederson said.
Pederson said the team has not decided whether McLeod will go on Injured Reserve. He is also not sure if McLeod will be out for the remainder of the season.
"I'm not going to get into roster decisions and what that plan is," Pederson said. "We've got options back there obviously. We're moving some guys around, but we have a plan and we're comfortable with what we've got."
Pederson also updated offered updates on other key injured players. Running back Darren Sproles tested his hamstring injury, but is "not there yet." He will not play against the Titans.
Running back Jay Ajayi, who practiced Thursday for the first time since hurting his back against the Buccaneers in Week 2, has looked good in practice. He is set to play against the Titans after suffering what Pederson confirmed to be a small fracture in his back.
Pederson said the injury sounds worse than it actually is, and pain tolerance was the main issue in his recovery.
"I actually had that same injury when I played," Pederson said. "He's a tough kid, he's battled through it, and really he's felt fine. It might sound bad but he is a tough kid and he doesn't want to miss another one."
Alshon Jeffery was a full participant in practice for the first time this season on Wednesday as he recovers from surgery on his torn rotator cuff. However, he missed Thursday's practice with an illness. Pederson confirmed that a virus has affected a few players in the locker room and it's a "24-48 hour thing."
Pederson stressed the importance of hygiene for the team including washing hands and covering up while sneezing. He also said the staff saw enough from Jeffery in practice to play him against the Titans if he is well on Sunday.
"Yeah we did and then we've still got tomorrow," Pederson said. "Our departure is later in the day so we can spend tomorrow getting him going to catch up on the stuff he has missed."
Having a number of injuries before Week 4 of the season is not ideal. Pederson said it's especially unusual that injuries have impacted a few positions deeply instead of several positions. Stepping up in key players' absences will be difficult. Luckily, there aren't many teams proven to be better equipped to deal with injuries than the Eagles.
"It is key to lean on the experience," Pederson said of 2017. "And I give compliments to our assistant coaches for preparing everybody and getting everybody ready to go for situations like this."
