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Travis Long tears ACL again

Travis Long tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee one year after suffering the same injury, ending the season for the Eagles outside linebacker.

Long was hurt Monday during practice. If the Eagles want to open a roster spot, they would need to waive Long as injured and he would revert to injured reserve if he goes unclaimed. If they put him directly on injured reserve, he would count against the 90-man roster.

The Eagles were already light at outside linebacker. They released veteran Trent Cole and re-signed Brandon Graham in March, but the only other free agent they added was combo linebacker Brad Jones. The Eagles did not draft an outside linebacker.

Marcus Smith now steps to the fore and is the leading candidate to win the third outside linebacker spot behind starters Connor Barwin and Graham. Bryan Braman is also in the mix, although he has played primarily on special teams. Defensive coordinator Bill Davis said Monday that Smith has made strides this offseason after a rookie season in which he contributed little.

Long was on track to make the roster last season before he tore his ACL in the preseason finale. The injury occurred five days after current Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford tore his left ACL for the second time. Coach Chip Kelly had been talking up Long's candidacy for the third outside linebacker spot this spring.

Long, 24, spent all of the 2013 season on the practice squad. He went undrafted partly because he tore his right ACL as a senior at Washington State.

Backing Kelly

Davis said that the relationship between Kelly and his players is "being portrayed outside different than it is inside," and that Kelly has the "most open-door policies" of any coach he has been around in more than two decades in the NFL.

He added that cornerback Brandon Boykin had a "long talk" with Kelly during the offseason about Boykin's role on the team.

"We do more for players than anything I've ever been around," Davis said. "We do more for conditioning, their body, their health, their mental health, their growth and all parts of being a man and a player than anywhere I've been around. And you can just ask the players about how much we spend time on them, on their mind-set, on their moods, on how their bodies are feeling, their hydration, all of it."

Open to the public

The Eagles host their first public practice on Tuesday at Lincoln Financial Field. It will also be their first day wearing pads. The alumni day festivities begin at 11:45 a.m. Practice begins at 12:05 p.m.