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Turner joins Eagles roster; Agholor might sit; Vaitai out with MCL

Eagles coach Doug Pederson said Monday the team has moved wide receiver Paul Turner from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, creating space by releasing cornerback Aaron Grymes.

The subtext there is the meltdown starting wideout Nelson Agholor suffered Sunday at Seattle, Agholor acknowledging "I just have to get out of my own head" after his failure to toe the line of scrimmage got Zach Ertz's 57-yard touchdown reception called back. Then Agholor dropped a pass, before ultimately finishing the game without a reception, despite playing 70 snaps.

Pederson said that the remarks concerned him, and that he wants to sit down with the Eagles' 2015 No. 1 pick later this week.

"I will definitely have a conversation with Nelson. ... Those are definitely concerns that I have, now that he's come out and said that publicly. My concern is for him as an individual, as a person," Pederson said. "I want to make sure that he's in a good spot ... football aside."

Pederson didn't say Agholor will sit next Monday against the Packers, but he seemed to indicate it is a strong possibility. He said he can't recall having dealt with anything quite like this.

"Sometimes you have to take a step back in order to go forward," Pederson said.

Pederson's mentor, Andy Reid, often voiced that thought when sitting a player down -- for example, when he benched Donovan McNabb at halftime of a loss to Baltimore in 2008. McNabb played well in beating Arizona four days later, on Thanksgiving.

"Sometimes that can help clear your head ... see it where you don't have the pressure of performing on you all the time," Pederson said.

Pederson said he will decide Agholor's status after they talk.

Meanwhile, rookie right tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai is "week to week" with a Grade 2, medial collateral ligament sprain, Pederson said. That means Allen Barbre will start at right tackle against the Packers and Stefen Wisniewski will take Barbre's place at left guard, with Isaac Seumalo working in, Pederson said.

A source close to the situation indicated Vaitai probably will miss about four weeks -- which is the time remaining in Lane Johnson's suspension.

Vaitai's injury seems to be the most serious of several suffered by the Eagles Sunday. Running back Ryan Mathews has a milder, "day to-day" MCL sprain; running back Darren Sproles has a nondisplaced rib fracture that shouldn't keep him from playing against the Packers; defensive end Connor Barwin has a bone bruise that should allow him to play; and corner Leodis McKelvin is in the concussion protocol.

It seems likely Grymes will go back to the practice squad if no one picks him up.

Turner is an undrafted rookie from Louisiana Tech who was the Eagles' leading preseason receiver. His status has become an obsession with some fans, though he is 5-10, 193, not exceptionally fast, and won't be facing nonroster players, as he often was in August.

"We gave him some work last week in practice, and just feel like this is a good opportunity now not only for him, but for us to see where he's at, see what he can do,  give him an opportunity," Pederson said. "So we'll give him some work this week and then we'll make a decision whether he'll be up or not later in the week."