PHILADELPHIA — For the first time since Week 1, the Eagles’ injury report doesn’t look like a Cheesecake Factory menu.
The Birds, finally, have their full complement of weapons.
“I’m very excited,” left tackle Jordan Mailata said. “We get the boys back. We get to play Eagles football. We get to go out there and have fun.”
Top receivers A.J. Brown (hamstring) and DeVonta Smith (concussion) and right tackle Lane Johnson (concussion) were all full participants in Wednesday’s practice at NovaCare Complex. Smith is still in concussion protocol, but is expected to be cleared.
“I feel good, I feel like I can help this team,” Johnson said. “I think we’d all like to start picking up our ability on this team, what we can do. I think you’ve seen flashes of what this offense can do, we just haven’t been consistent.”
In addition to getting healthy during the bye, the Eagles have had an extra week to prepare for Cleveland this Sunday, which will be just their second actual home game of the season.
In other words, there are no excuses anymore.
“I actually always get so excited for the bye week,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “Just get locked into the room and just sit there and figure out the things you do well, the things you don’t do well. And the things that you don’t do well — is it something that you can just eliminate, or is it something that you have to get better at?
“I think, generally speaking, it’s our turnover differential that we have some different ways that we’re going to coach a couple things, some tackling things, how we’re going to coach a couple things and drill a couple things.”
The Birds have missed 25 tackles through four games this year, according to Pro Football Focus. That’s on the lower end of the middle of the pack, until you consider most teams have played five games.
The Eagles are minus-6 in turnovers. The only teams worse are the Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans (both minus-7). A big reason for the problem, of course, has been quarterback Jalen Hurts. He has turned the ball over seven times through the first four games, and he leads the league in turnovers dating back to the start of last season.
He has been indecisive in the pocket and held on to the ball too long, often looking for big plays downfield that aren’t always there.
“Coach Sirianni talked about the details, and I think that’s what it comes down to, from timing to communication,” Hurts said. “Everyone being on the same page in terms of what play’s called and how we execute that play, defining it, and let the talent take over when it’s time to.
“I’m happy and fortunate that we were able to come together in harmony (during the bye) and have the same goal in mind and try to get this thing right,” he said. “I have a ton of confidence in him, a ton of confidence in what he brings and everything he’s been able to accomplish, and just continue to press on with that.”
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Sirianni said all the right things about linebacker Devin White, whom the Eagles signed to a one-year, $7.5 million contract in March and released on Tuesday before he ever played a snap.
White, a 26-year-old former Pro Bowl selection, won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay when Tom Brady was there in the 2020 season.
“I just thought he was a really great pro,” Sirianni said. “He handled everything with class. I know that was a hard situation for him to be in, a guy that has started a lot of games in this league and been successful in this league. And I can’t say enough good things about Devin, the person, and how he handled a disappointing situation for him. I think it just gives you a perspective of what we feel about the rest of that room, and the guys we have in that room, and how they’ve been executing, and how they’ve been playing. I look forward to continuing to grow with those guys that we have.”
Ironically, the one guy on the Eagles’ injury report was Mike linebacker Nakobe Dean (ankle), who beat out White in training camp for the starting job. He was limited in practice.
