Eagles Activate Rodney McLeod, Landon Dickerson
PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles activated a pair of players rehabbing from ACL surgery before practice on Monday, veteran safety Rodney McLeod and rookie offensive lineman Landon Dickerson.
McLeod was activated from the PUP [physically unable to perform] list while Dickerson was given the all-clear from the NFL [non-football injury] list. The difference being that Dickerson, the team's second-round pick, was injured in college at Alabama while McLeod went down against the New Orleans Saints in December of 2020.
Both players are now eligible to practice and were participants during warmups and individual work Monday after missing all of training camp.
The moves are also a clear indication that McLeod and Dickerson will both be on the Eagles' initial 53-man roster which must be in place by 4:00 ET Tuesday.
If the Eagles kept McLeod on PUP and Dickerson on NFL, that would mean both players would have missed at least the first six games of the season. Philadelphia could still place one or the other on short-term injured reserve after the cut to 53, lowering that number to three games in such a scenario.
The return to practice doesn't guarantee either will be ready by the Sept. 12 opener at the Atlanta Falcons, but it does offer a clear indication the Eagles believe each player will be available before Week 6.
McLeod has stated Week 1 was his personal goal while Eagles GM Howie Roseman is on record saying the organization did not believe 2021 would be a redshirt year for Dickerson.
John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is theNFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
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