Zach Ertz, Marcus Smith practicing for Eagles

Zach Ertz practiced on Wednesday for the first time in nearly a month, and there's a possibility that the Eagles' third-year tight end could play in the season opener on Monday against the Atlanta Falcons.

Ertz, who had surgery on Aug. 14 for a core muscle injury, was cleared to return to practice after he ran routes in front of the medical staff on Friday. The Eagles had a relatively light practice on Wednesday, and Ertz is curious to see how his body will respond on Thursday.

He expects the decision on whether he can play against the Falcons to stretch to "Monday, right before the game." Coach Chip Kelly said the team would monitor him this week to "see how he handles it."

"It's something I pinpointed to be back and healthy for," Ertz said of the opener. "It was a four-to-six-week injury. We're at the tail end of three weeks, going into the fourth. So we're right on schedule."

Ertz said he "felt very good" at practice on Wednesday. He does not expect a problem in the area because the surgery cleared up the pain, but the key now is getting into game shape and making sure there's no setback.

Although the injury required surgery only last month, it has been bothering him since his rookie season in 2013. Ertz said preparing for practice became a "full-day process" and the surgery alleviated the problem.

"In the long run, it could be a blessing in disguise that I got this done," Ertz said. "Hopefully, all the pain is behind me."

Now Ertz must compensate for the loss of valuable time. The three weeks on the sideline was time he could have spent developing a rapport with quarterback Sam Bradford. Ertz said it helps that he and Bradford "kind of see the game the same way," but he admitted he missed out on the game experience.

Ertz attended every practice and tried to imagine he was on the field. After Bradford finished a drill, Ertz would discuss what just happened to learn what Bradford saw.

If Ertz is healthy, this could be a big season for him. He progressed from 36 catches for 469 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie to 58 catches for 702 yards and three TDs last season. Ertz, who is 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, has the ability to be one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the NFL. But his blocking limited his playing time during his first two seasons. Ertz played only 50 percent of the offensive snaps in 2014. If he's going to be an every-down tight end, he must earn the coaching staff's trust as a blocker.

Ertz devoted much of his offseason work to improving his blocking. Without preseason games to demonstrate any improvement, there's still a degree of unknown about how much he can be relied upon in that area.

"We didn't get him in the games, but I think he has improved," Kelly said. "You can tell from a technical standpoint what he's done, and [tight ends coach Justin Peelle] can tell that during drill work what he's done to improve from that standpoint."

Ertz still must show it in a game. There's a chance it could happen on Monday. Ertz's status will be monitored throughout the week, and the answer might not be revealed until the inactive players are named 90 minutes before kickoff.

"I don't want to miss any games," Ertz said. "I worked hard all offseason to be ready for the games and make an impact for games. I know if I have an opportunity to play, I'm going to play. Obviously, we have to be smart with it, because it's the first game of a long season - and hopefully a long playoff run as well."

@ZBerm