A Lighter Jordan Davis Eyes Return

The Eagles' star rookie used his injury rehab to also work on his conditioning

PHILADELPHIA - When Jordan Davis is back in the Eagles’ lineup, there will be a little less of the big rookie.

Davis is on the cusp of returning from a high-ankle sprain that has cost the rookie the last four games. Philadelphia started the 21-day practice window on the first-round pick Wednesday and the organization has until Saturday at 4 p.m. to decide whether to activate him for Sunday’s game against Derrick Henry and Tennessee.

A cursory look at the portion of practice open to the media on Thursday was positive and Davis looks ready to go with the last piece of the puzzle being conditioning.

"We’ll make a decision at some point," said Davis after practice. "It’s not really up to me. It’s the combination of everything. I’m pushing it. We’re pushing it. We’re cranking this thing full tilt as far as I can go. I would love to, but we have to make a decision that’s smart for everybody."

Typically, the 6-foot-5 Davis plays at about 340 pounds and there was some concern that the inactivity of missing a month of the season could be a detriment for one of the Eagles’ biggest players.

Instead, the opposite was true as Davis used the time rehabbing his ankle to also remake his body a little bit, losing 20 pounds as the strength and training staff worked up a plan that targeted the injury and Davis’ long-term conditioning goals.

“Y’all would be surprised," he said. "I lost 20 pounds since I was ou. From the Steelers game till now, I lost 20 pounds. So conditioning is high. Even just now, I came in from doing the bike. Just doing whatever I can. 

"Even at the point where I couldn’t walk, I was still on the bike, doing upper body and stuff like that. So shoutout to the strength staff for that, keeping me lined up, and the nutrition, too.

“One thing goes down, you have to be very cautious about the others. You don’t want to eat your way out, and come back and be the same person that you were, or even better. That’s one thing that I strived for when I was out, just being able to come back, and when I do come back, I’m still that same player or even better.”

Davis was injured on Oct. 30 against the Steelers and the setback stung a bit at first for the No. 13 overall pick.

“When it happened initially, I was kind of bummed out because I grew up a Steelers fan,” he said. “That was one of the games I had circled. But I knew exactly what it was when it happened because I had one in college (at Georgia).

“I was like, man, you’re dejected because obviously you want to play and you want to be with the team. But at the end of the day, it’s a process, and luckily for here, we have a great training staff.”

Before the injury, Davis was really starting to excel as a run-stopper in the Eagles’ odd-man fronts and his absence was felt to the point Howie Roseman felt the need to go out and add veterans Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh to replicate what Davis was giving Jonathan Gannon’s defense.

Now the depth on the interior should be very impressive down the stretch.

“I’m playing with new guys. They brought in two new guys. So just learning the knowledge that they have,” Davis said. “Linval, 13 years, Suh’s been playing since I was in 3rd grade (that might not be true), so it’s crazy.”

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen