Eagles Notes: Cole's injury doesn't mean start for Wells, Reid says

Guard Nick Cole's swollen knee means he will be limited in practice this week, but does not necessarily mean Reggie Wells will start in his place, head coach Andy Reid said Monday.

Cole left Sunday's game early after another rough go in pass protection, but Reid said the move was related to the injury, not performance. He would not commit to a starter for the game against the Washington Redskins.

"What I'm going to do is a little bit of what I did last week right now with Nick, and just back off him a little bit and see if we can't get his knee calmed down just a little bit. And then I'll take it from there. It will be a day-to-day thing, [Cole's] not out. He's going to be out of practice probably Wednesday there, but we'll see," Reid said.

Wells replaced Cole Sunday and picked up an early holding penalty, but was part of a line that protected quarterback Michael Vick better than in weeks past.

Still, Reid didn't give Wells a very strong endorsement.

"He did OK. He's still getting used to kind of what we do. So, he did OK," Reid said.

Cole's knee also was swollen during the preseason when he was struggling at center. The injury allowed Mike McGlynn to take the No. 2 center job and he is now the starter after Jamaal Jackson got hurt again.

Wells, a starter in Arizona until he lost his job this training camp, was acquired in a late off-season trade.

Fullback Leonard Weaver said he is not worried that his knee injury is career threatening and expressed confidence that he will be back on the field at some point.

He admitted, though, that his rehabilitation from tearing both his anterior cruciate ligament and posterior lateral corner in his left knee is quite painful, physically and emotionally. He also had nerve damage in the knee.

Weaver said the injury has brought him to tears at times, but overall he's kept his typical sunny outlook.

He watched a video of the Week One injury, and said he could have easily avoided the fateful hit with a cut to a hole on the right. "The only injury risk would be hitting my head on the goal post."

But he said he was fated to suffer the injury.

In the meantime, Weaver said he is watching Eagles games, calling out plays from the couch, and envisioning his responsibilities, as if he were still on the field.

Reid praised Weaver's replacement at fullback, Owen Schmitt, who had the benefit of coming from a Seattle offense with the same terminology as in the Eagles system. "He's a big, tough kid that can catch the ball a little bit and blocks OK, so I mean, he fit in OK." . . . Tight end Brent Celek has a "wrist contusion" and "should be OK," Reid said. Defensive end Brandon Graham has "a bit of an ankle sprain." . . . With backup middle linebacker Omar Gaither inactive Sunday, rookie Jamar Chaney would have played if Stewart Bradley got hurt, Reid said. Bradley was healthy, though, and Chaney mostly played on special teams.