Eagles Today

Eagles Practice Report: Star WR Sits To Start Week

The Eagles have been managing DeVonta Smith through a hamstring injury.

John McMullen

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith walks out of the tunnel before action against the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field.
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith walks out of the tunnel before action against the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
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PHILADELPHIA - With "California Love" as part of the soundtrack, the Eagles returned to the practice field Wednesday to start preparation for Sunday's game at the Los Angeles Rams.

Absent from the small part of the session open to reporters was DeVonta Smith. The star receiver has been dealing with a hamstring injury for a few weeks and the Eagles have typically been managing it throughout the week to get to game day. That said, it should be noted Smith was limping after the win the Weel 11 win over the Washington Commanders.

Defensive tackle Milton Williams was on the field watching individual drills next to defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. However, it looked like he wasn't going to be participating in Wednesday's practice after injuring his soot against the Commanders.

Philadelphia Eagles On Si caught up with Williams after the game and the fourth-year pro said he was fine but this is an injury to watch this week.

Also, on the day that head coach Nick Sirianni confirmed that Bryce Huff would be undergoing surgery on Thursday for a wrist injury in hopes of getting the edge rusher back with more functionality later in the season, third-round rookie Jalyx Hunt was working on a side field with a trainer, not an optimal situation for the Eagles defense.

Hunt is presumably the next man up for the Eagles in the edge rotation and if he's unable to play against the Rams, Philadelphia may have to dip into the practice squad for either Tarron Jackson or David Anenih.

In better news, the Eagles opened the 21-day practice window for receiver/punt returner Britain Covey, who has missed the last seven games with a broken scapula.

In Covey’s absence, rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean has been handling punt returns very well, averaging 11.8 yards on 14 returns. Now that DeJean is the starting slot cornerback for the Philadelphia defense, it's probably a prudent idea for the Eagles to get back to Covey at PR whenever he's deemed ready to go.

Defensive tackle Byron Young, on IR since Oct. 25 with a hamstring injury, is also getting closer and was working with trainers on a side field.

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John McMullen
JOHN MCMULLEN

John McMullen is a veteran reporter who has covered the NFL for over two decades. The current NFL insider for JAKIB Media, John is the former NFL Editor for The Sports Network where his syndicated column was featured in over 200 outlets including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Miami Herald. He was also the national NFL columnist for Today's Pigskin as well as FanRag Sports. McMullen has covered the Eagles on a daily basis since 2016, first for ESPN South Jersey and now for Eagles Today on SI.com's FanNation. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey and part of 6ABC.com's live postgame show after every Eagles game. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

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