Jason Kelce had “clean-out” surgery on his elbow Aug. 9. The procedure was declared a success and the Eagles’ hope was their All-Pro center would be ready for the Sept. 11 season opener.
That might happen.
Kelce returned to practice Wednesday and while coach Nick Sirianni wouldn’t give a timetable for his return, having the center on the field is obviously a great sign and an indication he is on-track to play against Detroit.
“Yeah, always happy when Jason Kelce is on the football field,” Sirianni said at a news conference Thursday.
“Obviously, I’ve told him this many times. When I’m the head coach here, I want to be on the football team. There’s no secrets in that.
“I don’t know how many kegs I’ll have to send next year or the year after that or the year after that, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.
“But we love having him out on the field, and it just always makes a big difference, and then of course when you get to work with first-team reps, when you have first-team reps to go and you’re a young player developing, that’s super important to any player.”
Sirianni was talking about rookie Cam Jurgens, who was successfully taking first-team reps while Kelce was out.
“Cam was able to develop from that, and Jason helped him along the way with that, as well,” Sirianni said.
Kelce is riding a consecutive game streak of 122. At 34, he remains one of the most valuable Eagles. Last year he was named first-team All-Pro for the fourth time. He also has been selected to the Pro Bowl five times.
Also back on the practice field Thursday was running back Miles Sanders, who had missed nearly three weeks with a hamstring injury. His status for the opener remains uncertain.
CAPTAINS PICKED
The Eagles players selected seven captains for the season, Sirianni said.
On offense, quarterback Jalen Hurts (second time), center Jason Kelce (fifth time) and tackle Lane Johnson (first time) were picked.
On defense, the captains are tackle Fletcher Cox (fifth time), end Brandon Graham (fourth time) and Darius Slay (first time).
Kicker Jake Elliott was selected as a captain for the first time.
Sirianni also hinted there could be more personnel moves in the near future, including the possible return of linebacker Davion Taylor, who was released after making the original 53-man roster.