The Eagles made a series of moves today, trimming their roster down to 75 players.
Mike Patterson has been placed on the non-football illness list, meaning he’s out for the first six weeks of the season. After that, he can return to practice and the Eagles have three weeks to either place him on injured reserve (ending his season) or add him to the 53-man roster.
The same rules apply to Jason Peters, even though he’s been placed on the non-football injury list.
Eagles head coach Andy Reid confirmed today that defensive tackle Mike Patterson could miss the entire season as he recovers from offseason brain surgery.
“I think that’s going to be an extended time here,” Reid said. “We’ve just got to see how that goes, if he’s able to go at all this year. We just have to see how that works out. We’ll take checkups in increments here, but right now, it’s going to be awhile.”
A couple things to clear up surrounding the Mike Patterson situation.
I have heard the latest news referred to as a “setback,” but that’s not entirely accurate. The healing in the brain is not the issue. Instead, it’s the bone graft on his cranium that still needs some time to heal. The estimated time for recovery is six months, but it can obviously take longer. According to his agent, J.R. Rickert, Patterson will still participate in conditioning exercises but won’t take part in any contact drills during training camp.
The news came down on Friday, as Dr. Robert Spetzler made it known that he wasn’t comfortable clearing Patterson. By the sounds of it, they are being very cautious. Rickert, who has been in communication with the doctors, said that the only risk of Patterson returning to action is if he lost his helmet on the playing field and sustained a direct hit on the area of the head where the bone graft took place.
Most Popular at Phillymag.com
Sheil Kapadia has been writing about the Eagles since 2008. His previous Philly.com blog, Moving the Chains, was named one of the best in the state by the Associated Press. Sheil's main joys in life are family, football and finding good parking spots.
Tim McManus is a bulldog reporter with a nose for news and story angles that will get people talking. He'll talk about it himself on 97.5 The Fanatic, where he serves as a host and Eagles beat reporter. Tim, an award-winning journalist, will be with the team around the clock.
