Dressed from head to toe in Eagles apparel, Jordan Matthews stood at his locker on Saturday afternoon as his teammates prepared for practice. The wide receiver, who is rehabbing a knee injury he sustained earlier in Training Camp, wouldn't be joining them on the field as he is still listed as day to day.
While Matthews chose not to comment on the specifics of his knee, the third-year player did insist that he'll be ready come time for Week 1. When directly asked if he would be back for the regular season, he said, "For sure."
Even if Matthews doesn't take a snap in either of the two remaining preseason games, the wide receiver is confident he'll be able to pick up right where he left off.
"I feel like I played enough football to where obviously I know I can do that," Matthews said. "Is it ever ideal? No, especially for me. I like to get reps. I like to go out there and practice. But, for me all the reps are the same whether I'm in preseason, whether I come back and practice Week 1, whether I'm practicing the Jets' week or whatever it may be. I'm going to go out there and put 100 percent into it.
"Of course, yeah getting those live game reps you always want to be able to do that but like I said, that's why I put so much importance too in the offseason talking about chemistry, being around guys that you know. It's not like I'm missing reps with a quarterback I haven't worked with before or with a bunch of guys in the offensive group that I don't have a good flow with and good camaraderie with. Those guys are being patient with me. The coaches, they are too. The training staff, they've been great with me so far."
Although not playing, Matthews has still been a big part of the team, spending time with the players off the field and getting to know the newest member of the receiving corps, Dorial Green-Beckham.
Matthews was already familiar with the second-year wideout, having worked out with him during the offseason.
"The best part about it obviously is him being a young guy, we can bring him into this culture and say, 'This is how we do things here,'" Matthews said. "We can get him acclimated to the way you play as a Philadelphia Eagle, get him acclimated to this city and this locker room and what it means to wear the Eagle wings on your helmet."
Missing the first two preseason games also gave Matthews a chance to look at the wide receivers group as a whole and evaluate where it is at this point. From the first game to the second, he saw a major difference.
The veteran noticed better blocking and improved route running, both of which can sometimes go unnoticed. However, Matthews knows attention to detail is key to making this unit stronger as the season begins.
"There are two things that I really look for from my group, attitude and effort," Matthews said. "Does Nelson (Agholor) and does Chris (Givens) and does Josh (Huff) and those guys bring great attitude and effort? Yes. That's what I want to see. I feel like that's what we've shown and I mean, PT (Paul Turner), I love what I've seen from Paul. He's come in and he's played great.
"If there's one good thing that's come out of me being out, it's that he's getting some extra reps. I think he deserves those reps. He's worked extremely hard. He's been extremely consistent in camp. You like to be able to see a guy like that come in when a guy like me goes down and be able to make plays."
