Eagles won't rush ailing Kendricks back, Schwartz says

The Eagles continue to miss starting linebacker Mychal Kendricks, who has been out since last Monday with a hamstring injury.

Coach Doug Pederson said Tuesday that he expected Kendricks back at practice by the weekend, but Kendricks was absent both Saturday and Sunday. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said the team does not want to rush Kendricks back to the field.

"Mychal is a very, very conscientious player and he works very hard off the field," Schwartz said. "So he's getting all the mental reps and he's staying up and he's asking a lot of questions. . . . There's no substitute for doing it on the field, but it makes no sense to go out there if you can't physically do it."

In addition to Kendricks and quarterback Carson Wentz, the Eagles practiced without wide receiver Jordan Matthews (knee), defensive tackle Mike Martin (knee), cornerback Jalen Mills (hamstring), and wide receiver Hunter Sharp (hamstring).

Schwartz said he was most pleased that his defense limited the Buccaneers to nine points and committed only two penalties in the Eagles' 17-9 victory in the preseason opener. The defense also forced four turnovers, but that was not enough for Schwartz.

"We had a bunch of turnovers, which again, we are trying to win the game. And those should help," Schwartz said. "We should have had more. We dropped a bunch of interceptions. I'm not giving pats on the back for what we did. We probably should have done even more and maybe not even make it close at the end of the game if we do a little bit more defensively."

Schwartz also said that the Eagles like Eric Rowe's skill set at cornerback - Rowe played cornerback and safety at Utah - but that safety is a position he could "potentially" play. There does not appear to be a plan to make the position switch at this point.

The Eagles released offensive lineman Malcolm Bunche and wide receiver Deon Long, opening two spots on the 90-man roster.

Bunche, 24, signed with the Eagles as an undrafted rookie in 2015. He spent last season on practice squad and had an opportunity to earn a roster spot this season while the team sought options on the offensive line.

Long, 25, signed with the Eagles last week. He came to the team after he was released by the Los Angeles Rams, who cut him after he had woman in his dorm room at training camp, as seen on HBO's Hard Knocks.

The timing of the moves could suggest the Eagles needed to open those spots for players they are targeting. There were no corresponding transactions on Sunday. The roster is at 88 players.

There were 17,389 fans on a sweltering night for a public practice at Lincoln Financial Field. There were 18,276 at the first public practice of training camp last week. . . . The Eagles will have a shorter practice session out of pads on Monday before putting the pads back on for Tuesday's practice.