Kafka Fractures Hand; Foles Steps In


Eagles backup quarterback Mike Kafka fractured his left, non-throwing hand during Thursday night’s preseason game against the Steelers and will not be back at full strength for two-to-three weeks, Andy Reid said today.

“What you’ll see from him, he’ll come out to practice… everything where he doesn’t have to take a snap, he’ll be able to do,” Reid said. “So the 7-on-7, some of the individual work, he’ll do.”

Kafka suffered the injury when he had his hand stepped on in the second quarter.

In the meantime, rookie Nick Foles is your backup quarterback. Foles went 6-for-10 for 144 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Pittsburgh.

“He’s progressing. He did some nice things,” Reid said. “I mentioned about keeping your eyes down the field on the one long ball where he had to move and then make the throw. That just came very natural to him. He felt the pressure, he scooted to the right, kept his eyes downfield, knew he had the receiver and gave him a catchable ball.”

Foles, a third-round pick out of Arizona, had been running exclusively with the third team until now. The Eagles also have Trent Edwards on the roster.

Given that Michael Vick missed three games last season and failed to finish two more, the Eagles need to make sure they have a backup quarterback they’re comfortable with. On Thursday, Vick suffered a thumb contusion on his fifth drop-back. He’s expected to be back at afternoon practice today.

As for Kafka, he has just 16 NFL passes under his belt. Coaches have shown trust in him all offseason by not bringing in a more established backup. And offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg raved about Kafka earlier in camp, saying the third-year quarterback is close to mastering the offense.

But given the recent setback, Kafka could very well miss the rest of the preseason.

OTHER INJURIES

Reid said the following players will not participate in practice today: Jason Babin (calf strain), Riley Cooper (fractured collarbone), Cliff Harris (ankle sprain), Cullen Jenkins (slight hamstring strain), Dion Lewis (slight hamstring strain), Jeremy Maclin (slight hamstring strain), Brandon Washington (concussion).

Lewis and Maclin are the new injuries. Maclin suffered his hamstring strain before Thursday’s game, and Lewis suffered his in the first half. Reid said both are expected to be OK.

EAGLES ADD WR

The Eagles have signed wide receiver Brian Hernandez and cut defensive tackle John Gill. The Eagles just signed Gill on Wednesday.

Hernandez (5-11, 190) signed with the Redskins in May. He is 28-years-old.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.