CAN HEAR CLEARWATER CALLING
Andy Reid said he isn't worrying about a potential Brian Westbrook holdout, as the franchise running back tries to get a better contract. Westbrook, who last week fired agent Fletcher Smith, is expected to hire South Jersey native J.R. Rickert within the next day or so. Veterans are scheduled to report to Lehigh on Thursday.
"I'm sure he would be" on time, Reid said of Westbrook, during Reid's training camp-opening news conference. Rookies and select vets reported today. "Brian's obviously one of the leaders of this football team, so I would expect that he would be here."
Reid also said he was not concerned about the contract squabble shadowing the Birds' season.
"We've always done a good job with those things, so I'm not worried about that. We've always been very fair and understanding to playes we've approached about contracts ... I'll leave it at that," Reid said.
Other news: The Eagles signed their final rookie, second-round defensive tackle Trevor Laws, but Reid disclosed that Laws had suffered a foot injury preparing for camp and won't participate in the rookie workouts that begin today and continue through Thursday. Reid didn't go into detail about the injury. He seemed to anticipate Laws being OK by the end of the week, when full-squad practices begin.
The other primary rookie d-lineman, third-round defensive end Bryan Smith, needed an MRI yesterday after suffering a hamstring injury. Reid noted that defensive line coach Pete Jenkins "might not have much to do" until vets report.
Reid said he will meet with disgruntled corner Lito Sheppard when he reports, presumably to clear the air. Reid said Sheppard "will have an opportunity to start just like the other guys do," though Reid has named $57 million free-agent signee Asante Samuel the starter on the left side, where Sheppard has played in the past.
One sign that this is Reid's 10th Eagles camp and not his first was his announcement of an "over-30 club." Veterans over 30 years old --excluding the quarterbacks and kicker David Akers, who are needed every day -- will work two full days, then get the morning practice off the third day, throughout camp, Reid said.
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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