Eagles Start Another OTA

Selected Vets At OTA and More From OTA

By Lance Epstein

On Monday, the Philadelphia Eagles kicked off their second OTA of the offseason. Veteran quarterbacks Kevin Kolb and Michael Vick attended and participated in passing drills.

Some of the other veterans that the Eagles have asked to be at camp or are partaking in the OTA are RB Mike Bell, DE Darryl Tapp, CBs Dimitri Patterson and Ellis Hobbs.

According to Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff McLane, Bell had to leave the field due to an injury and went straight to the Eagles trainers. The Eagles have not commented about his injury, but more news should come out as the OTA continues [speculation is that Bell hurt his glute or upper leg].

The semi-good news for Eagles fans is that Ellis Hobbs took the field to participate in seven-on-seven drills. Yet there is some frightening news for Eagles fans concerning Hobbs. Unfortunately, he was not able to complete the practice or participate in the seven-on-seven drills. Like Bell, he is in the trainer’s room getting checked out and the club has not released any information on his injury. Of course it could be that he is still receiving treatment. Hopefully, it is not a problem with his neck because it could mean PUP list for Hobbs.

Either way this is a bad sign for the Eagles if they expect Hobbs to be the starter for game 1 of the regular season. Yes, there is still four months until the beginning of the season, so he could completely recover from his neck injury.

However, he is about eight months removed from neck surgery and cannot even make it through practice drills with no contact. Fans were already down on the idea of Hobbs starting due to his injury concerns and abilities. Now it looks like the Eagles might have to make a move for a veteran cornerback. One name on the market that could be a stopgap for a year is Shawn Springs.

Besides the injuries, the highlight of the camp so far has been rookie safety Nate Allen. Allen picked off Vick on a “pump and go” and returned the ball to the house. The Eagles have been very impressed with how well Allen has picked up the system and has performed on the field.