Watkins has "chronic" ankle; doubtful for Sunday
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Watkins has "chronic" ankle; doubtful for Sunday
Jeff McLane
Danny Watkins has a "chronic ankle" condition, Andy Reid said Friday, and the right guard was listed as doubtful for Sunday's game after he missed two days of practice.
"Danny has got kind of a chronic ankle and he's had it for years," Reid said. "He disturbed it in the last game and he thought it would be fine and it didn't work out. He came back Monday practice, Wednesday practiced and he just didn't feel right. So [we] backed him up and let the thing settle down and we'll see how he does tomorrow and on Sunday."
Reid was asked if Watkins' ankle has been chronic since the Eagles selected the then-26-year-old in the first round of the 2011 draft.
"Yes," Reid said. "By Webster, yes. He tweaked it in the game, is what he did. He had had an issue with it years ago and then he tweaked it again in the game."
Reid was asked earlier if Watkins' ankle injury was something that the Eagles should worry about long-term.
"I think he'll be alright. I think he'll be alright," Reid said. "We'll just let it calm down here and see what happens."
If Watkins can't go Sunday, rookie Dennis Kelly will start in his place.
FROM EARLIER:
Danny Watkins was not suited up and will not practice on Friday.
The Eagles right guard will miss two straight practices and will likely be listed as no better than "questionable" when Andy Reid releases his injury list following practice. Watkins has an ankle sprain that he re-aggravated, Reid said on Thursday.
With Watkins out, rookie Dennis Kelly will get his second straight day of working with the starters. If he is needed Sunday against the Falcons, Kelly will make his first career start. He played exclusively at tackle at Purdue, but he did take some snaps at guard in the preseason.
Watkins has had his struggles this season, particularly against the Lions on Oct. 14. On Monday, after the Eagles returned from the bye week off, Watkins declined to answer questions because he said he did not like stories written about the offensive line and his performance.
Two days later, however, he spoke with reporters and expressed disappointment over the way he played against Detroit, especially after he said he make progress the previous two weeks.
The Eagles line has been banged up. King Dunlap will start at left tackle for Demetress Bell after sitting out the last three games with a hamstring injury. And center Dallas Reynolds has had issues trying to fill in for Jason, who is out for the season. Adding Kelly to the mix, despite Watkins' poor play, could be a recipe for disaster.
The Eagles line includes King Dunlap, Dallas Reynolds and Dennis Kelly. That's a wrap, folks.— p-diddy- By Webster, Watkins can now be defined as the most blatantly horrible draft selection since Jon Harris.
- Miami had the Killer B's, Eagles have the Dangerous D's, Dunlap, Dallas, and Dennis. — watsonmr
- going to be another jailbreak on vick. Thank god we drafted all those O linemen w our high picks— bhamss12
- when will roseman be held accountable?
— hannibal barca - ROSEMAN IS NOTHING BUT AN ADMINISTRATIVE, BEAN-COUNTING LACKEY. ALL OF THESE POOR DRAFT PICKS ARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE EXECUTIVE IN CHARGE OF FOOTBALL OPERATIONS - ANDY REID. — bedpan
- The Birds first 6 picks next year all should be O Linemen. Can we bring Thomas and Runyan back?— athousandgods
- Meanwhile, 2nd round draft pick Vinnie Curry, who everyone told me was so great, and plays a position they were deep in, sits in the stands with street clothes on. — watsonmr
- THIS TEAM IS 5 DRAFTS AWAY FROM BEING A SB CONTENDER. REID'S COLOSSALLY POOR DRAFTS IN 2010 AND 2011 ARE THE MAIN REASON THIS TEAM STINKS THIS YEAR. — bedpan
- Judging by his play, I would say he’s been doing that since he was drafted.— 14 years of
- Wonder if he really sprained his ankle?? They'll look really bad benching him if he was healthy... Wouldn't put it past the most ARROGANT team.... Well actually New England is but they have all those Super Bowls...— elfman
- INTERESTING POINT. ROTOWORLD HAD THE SAME THEORY TODAY. — bedpan
- Doesn't surprise me. I thought it all along. Reid has historically devised phantom "injuries" for under performing players he wants to bench. He still has several more "injuries" to go. — essell
- This sums it all up. Andy Reid was just interviewed on philadelphiaeagles.com and he stated that Danny Watkins has had a chronic angle issue for years. A writer followed up and he asked Andy if he had this issue when he was drafted and Andy said "by Websters goes, yes". Andy had the look on his face where he knows he opened a big can of worms by his statement. I ask, why did he choose this 27 year old with a known chronic ankle issue with a first round pick? I believe Watkins is sitting because he stinks and Andy doesn't want everyone to know that he made a huge error in drafting him.— wally18
- Ankles, knees. We shouldn't be surprised. Reid has ALWAYS drafted, or traded, for the weak, the infirm, the oft injured player to fill out the ranks in an effort to prove that his training staff can perform miracles and this will perpetuate the (self) image of genius that he thinks prevails among the uninformed. — essell
- tell me again why they won't take a look at jamaal jackson? did he insult howard mudd's wife? get some road-graders in ASAP, not undersized, high motor, mudd-type offensive linemen— hannibal barca
- What I don't understand is why not move Herremans to Guard and put Kelly in at Tackle? We all know Herremans is an awesome guard and it would allow Kelly to play his natural position. Just an observation.— dusk2k3
- Nah! Too sound. Too practical. Too logical. Too rational. This reasoning goes against the principles long established by Reid and Moronweg: Don't do what they expect you to do, do what they don't expect you to do that way they'll never guess what you're REALLY doing. Smart huh? — essell
- What I don't understand is why not move Herremans to Guard and put Kelly in at Tackle? We all know Herremans is an awesome guard and it would allow Kelly to play his natural position. Just an observation.— dusk2k3
- Next step is IR, and next year the new coach cuts him....one more failed AR pick....and next year, king, the mouth, watkins, bell and coleman will be gone...and so will Marty, mudd, washburn and april.....and thank heavens....AR will be history and enjoying the beches of SD....and jsut wondering if he takes any of those players and coaches with him...my guess is he bails on all of them— nuggett
- 100 percent accurate. It seems like he has actually been TRYING to get fired for the last 3 years it almost seems like he is embarrassing Jeffery so he can go to S.D. There is NOWAY he brings any of these coordinators with him. I hope by the mouth you're referring to Babin, he is a liability that speaks like he is Reggie White
- Reid has consistently left this team depleted in several areas year after year after year. Not replacing quality assistant / cordinator positions, hasn't replaced Dawk since letting him go, never addresses our LB area, and our OLine is full of bums drafted or picked up by him. He also put an inferior washed up QB as our leader to make an example to his son. He is ruining this team and it is time for him to go. End of story.— RealizticFan
- Reid has consistently left this team depleted in several areas year after year after year. Not replacing quality assistant / cordinator positions, hasn't replaced Dawk since letting him go, never addresses our LB area, and our OLine is full of bums drafted or picked up by him. He also put an inferior washed up QB as our leader to make an example to his son. He is ruining this team and it is time for him to go. End of story.— RealizticFan
- Yet, there are elements that consistently refer to him with the superlative, "great". Do these people not own a copy of Websters? Does a "great" coach make all the bumbling, fumbling, stumbling mistakes and miscalculations over a period of time like Reid has? No way is Reid a GREAT coach. Reid is BARELY an average coach. I wonder what on earth he has been doing with his time over a span of FOURTEEN YEARS to not learn from all of those mistakes and miscalculations (and there are plenty to learn from) ALL of those years? — essell
- WTF does "By Webster" mean?— atlvickfan
- He meant to say, "By Cracky, yes." — watsonmr
- It's getting harder and harder to stick with Andy and the F/O..I live in BC( traveled out for the Dawkins retirement NYG game) and have heard, 2nd hand but still, from people close to Watkins that he hates playing in a big city and all the attention and his passion is still firefighting. So we drafet a 26 year old , who doesn't want to be here, and also had a chronic ankle issue??Utter insanity..How much as fans are we supposed to endure of this garbage??? Yet we'll all be in our black jerseys Sunday fingers crossed for a miracle.........— PhillyMike5959
- Not that I would expect the Eagles to advertise that Watkins has a "chronic ankle," but why has it never come up and why wouldn't it have been mentioned at some point after the Detroit game? Even NE likes to advertise Brady's shoulder issues.
Weird that this would surface toward the back end of a week after a bye. Smells a little fishy, especially given Eagles' penchant for putting together stories to explain past failures (eg, no preseason camp in 2011, etc).— Mr. Magee - Herremans is out of position because they want him guarding Vick's blindside. They don't have a choice.— p-diddy
- What a terrible pick, a 27 year old guard with a bad ankle and limited skills, but they made up for it with Jarret. What a horrible draft!!!!— markperantoni
- AND THE 2010 DRAFT (THE BRANDON GRAHAM DRAFT) WASN'T ANY BETTER. THE 2 DRAFTS (2010 AND 2011) COMBINED ARE THE 2 WORST DRAFTS IN CONSECUTIVE YEARS IN NFL HISTORY. REID NEEDS TO BE FIRED NOW!!!! — bedpan
- What? Milky diarrhea?— ANDY-IS-FAT
- Chronic arthritis comes with old age. Why is everyone so surprised?— chocolatethunder
- And with the rain coming, his ankle is just acting up as is common in the elderly.— mjc1
- And with the rain coming, his ankle is just acting up as is common in the elderly.— mjc1
- Can't see them beating Atlanta with this offensive line. This is the worst line in Andy Reid's 14 years here.— p-diddy
- By Webster ??? Is Emmanuel Lewis the new Eagles trainer?— zeke128
- As watsonmr alludes to above, Reid selected Curry (BPA) and sits him, a foolish move considered he neglected to draft a backup safety or OL. Once again, Reid's arrogance is displayed--he "felt good" going into this season with this offensive Line, even though it it had two 2nd year starters and nary a quality backup, having traded them all away. Vick will run for his life behind this porous line for the rest of the season, but will not be here after Feb. 6 anyway. Sadly, Lurie will probably give Reid "one more chance"--the man needs some stability in his life after his wife left him (sic)--even though Reid's poor coaching and player selections are causing all this turmoil. Only if reason and justice prevail will Reid be gone too.— Robman
- Watkins has a chronic sucking problem, but Reid et al deserve the blame for drafting him. Problem is Reid needs lingering obvious evidence to admit to a mistake then two years later he will let him go
- Reid is gone, book it! He will be the problem of the Cleveland Browns and Nickels Banner...— BirdinParadise
- Another "I'm Andy Reid and I'm smarter than the entire NFL" pick.— deanwermer
- Well, on the bright side, the guy is only in his second season, so he must be really young, like, what, 22? Wasn't McCoy 21 or 22 in his second season?
What's that you say? Oh. Nevermind.— HolidayinCambodia - Vick will fake an injury to get out of the game. no protection? thanks andy.
and Coles is a dead dog.— Tyrone Biggums - "I'm Jon Runyan and I don't approve of this o-line."— Tyrone Biggums
- so what— Old German
- RIP Michael Vick— franknbeans
