Eagles head coach Doug Pederson met with the media prior to the first workout of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday.
The big story for the Eagles entering camp was the arrival of Fletcher Cox, who is due for a new contract and a big pay raise soon.
Pederson talked about Cox's arrival at camp and his confidence in resolving any issues surrounding his contract.
"I was just happy he was back and tell him how excited I was," Pederson said. "We didn't even get into it. We're excited to get him here this week.
"It's a voluntary offseason. It's his decision to stay away. Any of the guys can stay away. I'm not looking in the past. I'm looking forward. He's here today and I'm excited to have him and we're going to build off of each day we've got with him this week."
Pederson was asked if Cox's contract had not been resolved by training camp if he was worried that Cox would holdout from camp. Pederson's answer expressed the confidence he has in Howie Roseman to make a deal with Cox's agent.
"I'm just hoping it's done. Let's get it done," Pederson said. "He wants to be here, he misses the guys. Anyone who's been in a locker room before understands what team is all about. I'm fully confident something will be done before camp."
By missing voluntary workouts, Cox is at a disadvantage to the rest of his teammates who have already started learning the systems of Pederson and Jim Schwartz. As a result, Cox will be limited during the week as he starts to learn the new systems the Eagles new coaching staff is bringing in.
"He'll be a little limited. We want him to be in the meetings, we want him to go through the walkthroughs," Pederson said. "We want to get him as many mental reps as we can. I don't want to put him out there and risk injury. Now is not the time to see exactly what he can do because he's proven that."
Pederson added that Darren Sproles will also be limited for the same reason. Players that were dealing with injuries through voluntary workouts. Rueben Randle, Jordan Hicks, Nolan Carroll and JaCorey Shepherd are all limited this week. Similarly, Pederson said he will smart with how he uses Jason Peters during camps.
Pederson also added that reps for the quarterbacks will not change until the season draws closer and a starter is fully established. The Eagles are currently splitting the reps equally among the three quarterbacks on the roster.
But mainly, Tuesday is about the return of Cox and Sproles to the field and their first chance to join their teammates as the Eagles begin the journey of the 2016 season.
"They are so excited to be here, to be around their teammates, the coaches," Pederson said. "For both of them, too, they're learning a new system so it behooves them to pay attention in the meetings and walkthroughs but both of them are both excited and ready to go."
You can watch Pederson's press conference in its entirety below.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
