The prospect of left tackle Jason Peters returning during the regular season seems more real than ever.
“There’s a chance,”Andy Reid acknowledged on Wednesday.
Peters is running and doing some agility work, heightening optimism that he could play in 2012. The Eagles have until November 6 to put him on the practice-eligible list. They have three weeks from placing Peters on the list to activate him to the 53-man roster. There’s a decent chance that Reid uses all of the allotted time before making a move.
The 6-4, 340-pound veteran ruptured his Achilles twice this offseason — the first while working out in Texas back in March, then again in May when the Roll-A-Bout he was using to get around allegedly malfunctioned.
Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs recently returned to the field just five months after suffering a similar injury. There is one key difference, however.
“You saw Suggs go through his thing. Now the difference is, Jason has had two of these,” said Reid. “I’m not going to put him at risk, that’s not what we’re going to do. We’re going to make sure the doctors are on board, that Jason is on board, and then we go from there. If he’s physically able to be there, that’s OK. But I’m not going to do anything to risk further injury to him.”
The offensive players are keeping an eye on the Pro Bowl tackle’s progress.
“It sounds like J.P. is doing alright,” said Michael Vick. “Hopefully he’ll continue to make progress. We have one of the best training staffs in the league, and they are going to do a good job to get him back.”
Todd Herremans said he doesn’t want to make Peters feel like he is being pressured, but checks in with him periodically to get status updates.
“Seems like everything is coming along well,” said Herremans.
“Anytime you can add somebody with phenomenal talent like that it’s going to improve [your unit]. We can’t really bank on that. We have to go out and win right now with who we’ve got.”
