Head coach Andy Reid said on his weekly radio show on 610-WIP that the starters will play into the third quarter and possibly the entire third quarter on Thursday night against the Browns.
That's not necessarily a surprise since the third preseason game is considered the final dress rehearsal for the regular season. However, one of the players who could suit up is defensive tackle Mike Patterson. On Saturday, Patterson practiced for the first time since he experienced a seizure on August 3 at training camp. Reid said that Patterson wants to "give it a whirl," but if he does play don't expect a lot of snaps.
"I'm not going to tell you he'll play very long if he does play where the ones will probably end up playing a half and maybe into the third quarter, maybe the whole third quarter," Reid said. "We'll see how things go. I wouldn't expect him to play that long."
Reid did intimate that some starters could play in the preseason finale against the New York Jets, which is typically a night off for the first-teamers.
"I'll see how this one goes. I'll see how the numbers go," Reid said. "We'll see what gets done on Thursday and if I have to go next Thursday with some of the guys I'll do that too."
Also of note, Reid said that Jarrad Page has split practice reps on the first-team defense with strong safety Nate Allen. Returning from knee surgery last season, Allen is being eased back Reid said.
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