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DeMeco Ryans working to get back after second Achilles' injury

If veteran linebacker is back from injury, it could present a crowd to fill the inside linebacker spots.

Philadelphia Eagles' DeMeco Ryans speaks with members of the media after practice at NFL football training camp, Monday, Aug. 3, 2015, in Philadelphia. (Matt Rourke/AP)
Philadelphia Eagles' DeMeco Ryans speaks with members of the media after practice at NFL football training camp, Monday, Aug. 3, 2015, in Philadelphia. (Matt Rourke/AP)Read more(Matt Rourke/AP)

BE HONEST. When DeMeco Ryans tore the Achilles' tendon in his right foot last November at NRG Stadium in Houston, you thought there was a very good chance he had played his last down as an Eagle, maybe his last down for anyone. I confess I did, and I've been covering professional football for 32 years.

The man Chip Kelly calls "Mufasa" had just suffered his second Achilles' injury in five years (he tore the left one in 2010). He was 30 going on 31. You can count the number of thirtysomething NFL linebackers who have made successful comebacks from Achilles' injuries on your fingers.

When the Eagles acquired linebacker Kiko Alonso from the Buffalo Bills in March for LeSean McCoy, the door to a Ryans comeback seemed to close even more. Alonso missed all of last season with a knee injury, but was the NFL's defensive rookie of the year the season before, finishing third in the league in tackles.

The Eagles now had three starting linebackers - Alonso, Ryans and Mychal Kendricks - for only two starting jobs. And even if you believed Ryans could come all the way back from his Achilles' injury, there was the matter of his $6.9 million salary this season.

But all of that changed a few weeks later when Ryans agreed to a club-friendly two-year, $7.5 million contract extension in late March that included $4 million in guaranteed money (his $2 million salary this season and a $2 million signing bonus) and reduced his 2015 cap number by 56 percent, to $3 million.

Ryans, who turned 31 last week, isn't quite all the way back from his Achilles' injury.

"I still have a little ways to go," he acknowledged yesterday after participating in only his second 11-on-11 work since the injury last November. "Still need to gain a little bit of strength [in the foot], a little bit of explosiveness. Once I do that, I'll be ready."

The Eagles will put on the pads for the first time today when they hold the first of just two public practices at the Linc. It will be a big test for Ryans.

"I haven't had them on in a while," he said. "There will be a little uneasiness. But I think I need that. To [help] get that confidence in the foot again and knowing that I'm ready to go."

Even if he doesn't suffer any setbacks in camp, it's still too soon to tell how close the 2015 Ryans will be to the 2014 preinjury model. After tearing his left Achilles' in 2010 while with Houston, he wasn't the same player the next year, though there were some extenuating circumstances.

His rehab was stunted by the five-month NFL lockout, which prevented injured players from using their teams' facilities and working with their teams' training staffs.

"That was tough," he said. "This time, it went a lot better. I spent all of my time here [at NovaCare] working with our training staff, and it's been a much smoother transition this time around.

"I'm right where I need to be. I'm feeling pretty good. The recovery's gone pretty well. I'm happy to be out here and able to do everything and participate in all phases of practice."

Which brings us to the question of how the Eagles plan to utilize Ryans, Alonso and Kendricks. Ever since Chip Kelly took a shot at Kendricks at the NFL meetings in March for what he thought was a too-slow recovery from a calf injury last season that sidelined the linebacker for four games and parts of two others, there has been speculation that Kendricks was not long for Philadelphia.

Like cornerback Brandon Boykin, who was traded to the Steelers on Saturday, Kendricks is entering the final year of his rookie contract. And like Boykin, the 6-foot, 240-pounder doesn't fit Kelly's prototype for the position, even if he does happen to be one of the league's most athletic inside 'backers.

But Kelly effectively put the kibosh to the Kendricks trade talk on Sunday when he said emphatically he was staying put.

"You can put that in ink, not pencil," Kelly said.

Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis said yesterday he might use a package this season that would feature Kendricks, Alonso and Ryans on the field at the same time.

The chances of that happening might have increased with the news yesterday that outside linebacker Travis Long suffered his third ACL injury and is lost for the season.

Beyond starters Connor Barwin and Brandon Graham, the Eagles have little depth on the edge right now, particularly if 2014 first-round pick Marcus Smith continues to struggle. Both Kendricks and Alonso are capable of sliding outside if necessary.

Even if they don't, Davis thinks there will be more than enough work inside for the three of them.

"In the last two years, we've had more snaps defensively than anybody [in the league]," he said. "So there is plenty to go around, and a rotational basis can also be used, and that's probably where we'll start."

Two years ago, Ryans played 1,189 snaps, which was the most of any linebacker in the league. He was on pace for almost that many last season before getting hurt in Game 8.

Even if he completely recovers, he won't come anywhere close to playing that many snaps this season. He'd probably come off the field in nickel packages, particularly given Alonso's outstanding coverage ability.

"Kiko really is an expert [cover linebacker]," Davis said. "Him covering tight ends is a great matchup because of his length [he's 6-3]."

Ryans said he doesn't care who starts or how many snaps he plays this season.

"However they use me, it'll work out," he said.

On Twitter: @Pdomo

Blog: ph.ly/Eagletarian.com