Eagles' Pederson spares Daniel the history lesson

YOU GOT THE idea that the conversation was not a long one, when Doug Pederson called Chase Daniel to tell him Sam Bradford had been traded, but that this did not mean Daniel would become the Eagles' starting quarterback.

Pederson didn't bring up 1999, he said - that being the year Andy Reid brought Pederson to Philadelphia to be his starting QB until Donovan McNabb was ready. Back then, Pederson was looking to prove he could be somebody's long-term starter, use the year as a platform to make his case with another team, and he thought he'd get more than nine games to do that. With the Eagles 2-7, Reid went to McNabb.

"I didn't go back that far," Pederson said, when asked about telling Daniel that rookie Carson Wentz was now No. 1. All Daniel inherited was Bradford's locker, the first one on the left as you enter the room.

"I didn't know that, but I could imagine that," Daniel said, when asked if Pederson had detailed his own frustration over seeing his chance to start curtailed.

Daniel, like Pederson, was brought here because he knew the coach's offense, having worked with Pederson (and Reid) in Kansas City. Unlike Pederson, Daniel was not brought in to start but to teach the offense to Bradford and Wentz. But having signed a three-year, $21 million deal in free agency, Daniel also came in with the idea that he could end up starting, under the right circumstances.

Turns out, the right circumstances might end up being if Wentz gets hurt and the only other guy in the building who's ever taken a snap is still David Watford, the rookie practice-squad receiver who was a QB at Hampton.

"Carson's ready for this. It's about him now," said Daniel, who turns 30 next month. "We're going to move forward like that. For me, I've prepared like a starter from Day 1," as a Saints rookie in 2009.

Daniel allowed that he was disappointed, but not at all surprised. Like the rest of the locker room, by the end of the preseason, Daniel knew that if Bradford somehow was not the starter, the reins would pass pretty quickly to the player drafted second overall this year.

"It's unfortunate for me personally, but that's not what it's about," Daniel said. "It's not about one person, it's about the team. It's about what gives us the best shot to win, moving forward, and obviously, some guys think that's Carson, and that's fine."

Rookie wide receiver Bryce Treggs, who spent training camp and the preseason with Chip Kelly and the 49ers, practiced Monday with the Eagles, after being claimed on waivers. This was the waiver equivalent of a trade, with the Niners claiming former Eagles fifth-round pick Taylor Hart, a defensive lineman who played for Kelly at Oregon.

"I was walking in to sign my practice-squad papers with the Niners when my agent calls me and says, 'You've got a flight to Philly in three hours,' " Treggs said. "I'm grateful for the opportunity."

Treggs, 6-foot, 185, said he is very close to 100 percent from the MCL sprain he suffered with San Francisco. He probably is here because he has run a 4.39 40, and the Eagles don't have a lot of wideout speed. "I can definitely stretch the field," said Treggs, who averaged 21.2 yards per catch last season at Cal.

Treggs wore No. 1 at Cal, also the number worn there by DeSean Jackson.

"I've looked up to him and studied him for a long time, since I was about 13, 14 years old," Treggs said. (And yes, we are old enough that we're watching players who looked up to DeSean Jackson, who is going to be 30 in December.)

Running back Wendell Smallwood practiced and said he was cleared through the concussion protocol late last week . . . Wide receiver Paul Turner and corner C.J. Smith joined the practice squad, and linebacker Quentin Gause was released . . . Vinny Curry (knee) said he expects to play Sunday . . . Carson Wentz said he called Sam Bradford after he learned of the trade: "Thanked him for everything he'd done, helping me and really being a mentor to me."

@LesBowen

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