Eagles Notes: Back at practice, Mathis feels good

Eagles guard Evan Mathis returned to practice Wednesday for the first time since he hurt his knee in the opener. Mathis cannot play in a game until Nov. 10 against the Carolina Panthers because he's on injured reserve with a designation to return, but he was pleased with how he felt after practice.

"It could not have gone better than it did," Mathis said. "I had high hopes for the day. I wanted to go out there and really test it, see if there was going to be any instability or be any weakness, or if I was going to slow down at all. But it went as good as it could go. So that gives me confidence and makes me feel really good going forward that it's going to keep going that way."

Mathis, who was limited in practice, is benefiting from the team's decision to designate him for return. It allowed him to avoid rushing back while still preserving his eligibility this season. Teams can use the designation on only one player per season.

"I expect myself to be a spring chicken in the last stretch of the season," Mathis said. "I feel really good. Usually at this point in the season, I feel some aches and pains going on, but my knee doesn't hurt right now."

Mathis wore a brace on his left knee. He experimented with a brace in college but did not like it then. He did not find it to be a problem Wednesday.

"It didn't affect me at all," Mathis said. "I thought it might. My range of motion is normal in the brace. It's very, very light. I was worried it might slip down a little bit or come undone, but it was completely there the whole practice."

Defensive coordinator Bill Davis praised defensive lineman Fletcher Cox, who has excelled in his third season even though he has not recorded a sack. Cox has played 77 percent of the defensive snaps and has been a disruptive force at the line of scrimmage.

"I can't say enough about Fletcher Cox and what he's done for the pass rush," Davis said. "Fletcher is probably the biggest guy moving people off the spot right now. The sack numbers haven't fallen his way, but I'm willing to bet at some point those numbers are going to pop for him because he's that close that often."

Davis said he does not think Marcus Smith's work at inside linebacker will stunt the development of the first-round pick. Smith moved from outside linebacker after Mychal Kendricks was hurt in Week 2. The Eagles continue to insist the move is "week-to-week," leaving Smith without a long-term outlook.

"With a guy with his intelligence, I think it will actually help him grow in that he's not only looking through the eyes of an outside backer," Davis said. "Sometimes he had enough reps at outside backer, and it's not overly complicated out there. It's a lot more complicated inside. Now you move inside, and you can see it from a different perspective."

Kendricks was limited in practice with his calf injury. He was not available for comment again on Wednesday. . . . Center Jason Kelce was limited with a knee injury. Running back Darren Sproles (knee) was also limited. Linebacker DeMeco Ryans and running back Chris Polk were full participants.