IS STOCKPILING DEFENSEMEN
Nate Mink reporting ...
BETHLEHEM -- Everyone can exhale.
DeSean Jackson appeared fine walking out of the locker room with no limp or visible bandages before he hopped into his black Porsche and sped off without comment.
Teammates and team officials did not seem too concerned Jackson would miss significant time. Officially, the team is saying that Jackson is being evaluated.
"He'll be all right. It wasn't anything that serious," said linebacker Omar Gaither, who was within inches of Jackson when he twisted to the turf. "Obviously, they're gonna take the full precaution, but he'll be fine."
Gaither made sure to tell Andy Reid he did not bump Jackson before the star wide receiver crumpled and favored his lower back.
Looking on from the behind the line of scrimmage, quarterback Kevin Kolb felt his heat rate pick up a bit when his completion to Jackson resulted in his No. 1 receiver leaving practice early. Kolb, by the way, thread the needle and zipped the pass between two defenders about as close as it can to still be completed.
"It does for a quarterback," Kolb said about whether he holds his breath seeing a weapon like Jackson go down. "You definitely need him out there."
Mr. Perry's spot goes to Washington
Kelley Washington made his Eagles debut in a dark green No. 17 uniform at the expense of Jared Perry, released earlier today to make room for the 6-foot-3-inch, 217-pound receiver.
Washington figures to fight for the No. 4 receiver spot with Hank Baskett and rookie Riley Cooper. His edge, though, may be on special teams, where Washington is more than willing to contribute.
"They have a lot of smaller, quicker receivers," said Washington, who worked out for the Eagles after Thursday's morning practice. "I just bring a different dimension as far as being big and physical, a lot of YAC yards. I take pride in and being a bust tail on special teams.
"Anytime you're not a No. 1 or No. 2 that's when you really make an impact on a team is through special teams and filling in wherever need be. I'm a lunch pail guy. I just come to work, and that's how I've been my whole career."
Washington made one catch in 7-on-7s this afternoon, snagging a Mike Kafka pass over the middle on a 10-yard slant.
Birdseed
Newly acquired running back J.J. Arrington did not participate in the afternoon practice because he had yet to complete his physical ... Another scuffle broke out in the afternoon but with nowhere close to the action between Ellis Hobbs and Riley Cooper this morning. Offensive guard Mike McGlynn and defensive tackle Antonio Dixon locked horns and did some shoving before teammates and coaches broke it up.
Les
Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News
since 2002.
Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les
only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no
penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite
what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News
from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much
lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their
two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
E-mail Les at bowenl@phillynews.com
and follow
him on Twitter.
Paul
Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982.
He has spent most of his nearly 3 decades with the paper covering the
Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a
selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre
and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo started his career in Texas,
working first for the Midland Reporter-Telegram (1976-78), and then for
the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas
Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually was
boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose 2 sports coats to
blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley,
a University of Oklahoma grad who still hasn’t gotten over
that Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State 5 years ago, have 2 terrific
daughters -- Allison, 28, who is an attorney in South Jersey, and Amy,
25, who works in administration for a professional baseball team.
E-mail Domo at PDomo@aol.com and follow
him on Twitter.
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