Bradford watches practice; no word on status

Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford watched practice from the sideline on Tuesday while recovering from a concussion, making Mark Sanchez the top quarterback during the first training session of the week. The Eagles play this Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Bradford's attendance indicates that he was through the first phase of the concussion protocol, but he had not been cleared to play after suffering a concussion Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. He did not do any physical activity during practice, so he is not deep in the five-step process.

Bradford did not have his arm in a sling and there were no apparent signs of a problem with his left shoulder, which also was injured. He did not speak to reporters on Tuesday. Neither did Sanchez. Coach Chip Kelly does not hold a news conference until Wednesday.

"We're just going to get ready to play Tampa, and really what we do, both of the quarterbacks you mentioned can execute," offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said.

Defensive coordinator Bill Davis said Kiko Alonso is closer to taking on a bigger workload after playing 29 snaps and 30 snaps during the last two games. Alonso missed five games with a knee injury.

"I think he's getting closer," Davis said. "We really were excited about him coming out of that game with no setbacks at all. We're going closer and closer to more reps. Now we've got two big games in 10 days coming up, so we have to see how their bodies respond to that kind of workload. There's a lot of things that go into it. But right now, there's a three-man rotation that we kind of go on health."

DeMeco Ryans played the most snaps of the outside linebackers Sunday with 48. Mychal Kendricks played 40. Davis said the Eagles wanted to get them a nearly equal amount of work.

Running back Ryan Mathews was not even on the sideline during practice Tuesday, which could be an indication that he's still in the first phase of the concussion protocol after he was hurt Sunday. . . . Linebacker Connor Barwin and safety Walter Thurmond did not practice. Neither player was available for comment afterward. The Eagles do not provide an injury report on Tuesdays. . . . Safety Jerome Couplin (shoulder) and offensive lineman Josh Andrews (concussion) missed practice after missing Sunday's game.