Eagles head coach Doug Pederson addressed the media on Tuesday morning and announced 10 players would miss the preseason opener on Thursday.
Marcus Smith, Mike Martin, Mychal Kendricks, Malcolm Jenkins, JaCorey Shepherd, Wendell Smallwood, Marcus Johnson, Jordan Matthews, Jason Peters, Hunter Sharp will all be out of action for Thursday night's preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Pederson said that Peters will work out with the team on Thursday and be in uniform on the sidelines, but not play.
"Matt Tobin will take his place. Nelson [Agholor] is going to be at the Z spot and Chris Givens will take over at the X spot," Pederson said. "You've got Rodney McLeod and then you've got Chris Maragos and Jaylen Watkins on a rotating basis. Najee will be starting in place of Kendricks."
Thursday's preseason game offers two firsts for Eagles fans, the first game with Pederson on the sidelines and the first appearance in game action for Carson Wentz.
Wentz has had an up-and-down camp in terms of performance, but Pederson says mentally Wentz has been strong.
"He's very comfortable with where he's at. He's getting better every day," Pederson said. "I've seen a lot of young quarterbacks that come in and struggle mentally with the terminology and the overall volume of offense at this time. I haven't seen that from him at all. Very pleased with where he's at mentally and now it's just a matter of continuing to detail his work and fine-tune the mechanics."
Once Wentz gets on the field for the first time in an NFL game, Pederson says the important thing is for him to continue to develop on the physical end.
"The biggest thing is his decision making, the timing of throws, the accuracy of throws," Pederson said. "How well he in turn manages the offense, how well they move. Basically allowing him to just have fun and cut it loose. He's such a mobile guy that when he can scramble and get on the perimeter, he has the ability to make some tremendous throws and accurate throws out of the pocket. I'm kind of excited to watch those kind of things in a live setting."
Another adjustment for Wentz will be having to deal with pressure in a live situation. The quarterbacks are always protected in training camp drills and with Wentz being unleashed for the first time, Pederson has made sure he understands the need to protect himself.
"That was the first thing when he came here back in April," Pederson said. "He understands that. At the same time, it's a fine line but you've got to know that your longevity in this league is to protect yourself."
The Eagles obviously have a growing list of injuries and with 10 players out of action for Thursday, including four starters, getting all of the starters on the field at some point is a priority. Pederson said if there was any timeline for a return from Jordan Matthews, the starter with the longest timetable for return, to see his first game action, it would be Week 3 of the preseason.
"If I could get them all healthy for that third preseason game, that's the time you play your starters for more than a quarter," Pederson said. "That would be the time frame so that all the guys are healthy at that time."
Thursday is also Pederson's first time on the sidelines as an NFL head coach. Pederson had said on Day 1 of training camp that he had trouble sleeping the night before from the excitement of getting started. He is already feeling a similar way with the first preseason game around the corner.
"I'm excited," Pederson said. "I really looking forward to getting over there and the first one in the Linc and having the fans there and the opportunity to play against another opponent. You want to come away with no injuries, but at the same time, we're going to stay aggressive."
Kevin Durso is an editor for Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
