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Phillip Hunt has made the Philadelphia Eagles.

The former Bombers defensive end, who led the CFL with 16 sacks in 2010, was not among Philadelphia’s final cuts on Saturday afternoon when all NFL teams had to get down to 53 players. In fact, the Eagles released his main competition for the final defensive end spot, 2010 third-round draft pick Daniel Te’o-Nesheim.

Hunt used the CFL option window to sign with the Eagles in February and will remain Bomber property until Feb. 15, 2012.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHILADELPHIA — Eagles wide receivers Jeremy Maclin and Steve Smith practised on Saturday for the first time this year.

Maclin was cleared by doctors earlier this month after being stricken by an unknown illness during the off-season. Smith, signed away from the New York Giants, underwent microfracture surgery in December. Both were placed on the Eagles’ active roster.

Coach Andy Reid said Maclin and Smith were both limited at practice Saturday, and will be evaluated on a daily basis to determine how far they can go.

“If they make it through the evening fine, without any problems or setbacks, then we’ll add some more onto it (on Sunday),” Reid said. “And then we’ll just keep on going from there and see what happens. But really, I can’t tell you the date right now on either one when they’ll be ready to play.”

Maclin and Smith both said they expect to be in uniform when the Eagles open the regular season Sept. 11 in St. Louis.

“It felt good,” Maclin said. “I was kind of getting my feet back under me a little bit. Over the next few days, we’re going to manage my reps and let me get used to it. I feel alright, conditioning wise. It’s just being out there, running routes. I haven’t done that in a while, so there’s definitely some work I need to do.

“Like I said, I think I’ll get back to my normal self pretty soon.”

Maclin, 23, caught 70 passes for 964 yards and 10 touchdowns last year and has 125 receptions for 1,726 yards and 14 scores in two NFL seasons. He has missed only one game as a pro. A sore foot kept him out of a game vs. San Francisco his rookie year.

“I think this week, they’re going to ease me into it and monitor my reps and then they’ll let me loose next week,” he said. “I don’t know what that entails, but I think I’m going to back to being the same guy I was before this.”

Smith, 26, caught 220 passes for 2,386 yards and 11 touchdowns in four seasons with the Giants, including 107 receptions for 1,220 yards in his 2009 Pro Bowl season. He’s one of six former Pro Bowl players the Eagles added during the off-season.

Saturday’s practice was Smith’s first as an Eagle.

“It was great just to be back out there with my teammates and hearing the calls from (quarterback Michael) Vick,” he said. “It was really fun.”

Smith said he’s still not 100 per cent, but is getting close.

“It’ll take me a few weeks, but I feel really good right now,” he said. “I don’t feel like I’m labouring or I can’t cut. I’m doing good so far.”

The Eagles finish the pre-season Thursday night against the New York Jets in East Rutherford. Reid wouldn’t speculate whether Maclin or Smith will play in that game.

“It all comes with time,” Vick said. “We just have to continue to get reps. Jeremy and Steve have to shake the rust off and get back into football shape. It’ll take about a week or two.

“But, they’ll be alright.”

With Maclin and Smith both back, only offensive lineman Winston Justice and defensive end Brandon Graham haven’t practiced yet. Both are recovering from knee surgery.

 

 

Of all the positions Philadelphia Eagles fans should be worried about, wide receiver should come far down the list.

That doesn’t mean that Jeremy Maclin’s mysterious illness shouldn’t be a concern. Maclin is back in his home state of Missouri undergoing more tests to discern what precisely is wrong with him. Eagles head coach Andy Reid had no update on Maclin after Saturday morning’s practice session at training camp at Lehigh University and said he didn’t know when Maclin would rejoin the team.

After the preseason opener Thursday, Reid continued to insist the third-year pro who caught 70 passes for 964 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2010 will start the season with the Eagles (which they open in St. Louis, Maclin’s hometown).

“I think he’ll be fine,” Reid said. “I think he’s going to be ready. I guess I’m optimistic. I’m waiting to hear the results, but I’m optimistic.”

Judging from talk shows and message boards, not too many seem to agree with Reid. There’s no reason not to think Reid is right — as he said, no one seems to know what is wrong with Maclin and nothing has surfaced to the contrary — but the Eagles only have themselves to blame for the skepticism and doubt about Maclin. Far too often the Birds have obfuscated about injuries, calling them minor, playing them down or simply stonewalling until, lo and behold, the “minor” injury adds up to missing six weeks.

That may or may not be the case with Maclin — though Reid deserves the benefit of the doubt here; “I just want to make sure he is feeling right and okay,” Reid said — but it also doesn’t matter.

The Maclin situation represents, as higher-mathematics types would call it, a binary solution set.

Either: a) he plays Sept. 11, or b) he doesn’t.

If A, all will be fine. Reid won’t let him on the field if he’s not 100 percent, so a Maclin appearance in the Edward Jones Dome means he’ll be all set.

For those professional worry-wort types who obsess over every possible weakness of their team — these are the people who fret about the Phillies’ 12th pitcher while the team marches through the National League like Sherman through Georgia — and dither that Maclin will suffer from missing training camp or being “rusty”, consider these three items:

One, Reid isn’t worried about it.

“I know he can play football. That part I know,” Reid said.

Two, neither are his teammates. As fellow wideout Jason Avant said, Maclin could step on the field tomorrow and be (mentally) ready to play. He knows the system, he knows the offense.

Three, the “rusty” DeSean Jackson made his 2011 Lehigh debut Saturday morning after ending his holdout and looked … in top midseason form. Or better. Caught everything thrown his way and played perfectly in sync with Michael Vick. There was not the slightest sign Jackson had missed two weeks of camp.

“It was a lot of fun to be back,” said Jackson, who delighted the large crowd on hand for the last Saturday of camp with some nifty grabs. “My teammates were happy to have me back. My legs are feeling great. I want to put it all together on the field and keep working hard. I want to be consistent every day.”

Jackson’s well on his way to that latter goal — every pattern looked October-sharp Saturday.

And that’s what will be the case with Maclin if he plays. He’ll come back, look just fine and step right into the lineup.

If B — Maclin doesn’t play Sept. 11 — there won’t be a whole lot of reasons to worry, either.

Sure, the Eagles would miss Maclin’s explosiveness. But anybody who watched Riley Cooper turn the Ravens’ Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed inside out Thursday, or has watch Avant make highlight-reel catch after catch at Lehigh, or saw Chad Hall be open on every play versus Baltimore or hauling in gorgeous deep balls in practice Saturday, knows the Eagles have more quality depth at wideout than any other position.

And that doesn’t even bring LeSean McCoy, Brent Celek or Ronnie Brown’s receiving skills into play.

With Jackson back, the Birds have the home-run threat they need to keep defenses honest.

While Maclin would add a special dimension, Vick won’t lack for options with Avant, Cooper and Hall to choose from. Steve Smith certainly will help the cause too but he’s not likely to play until mid-season.

Eagles fans should be worried about Maclin’s health, of course, and the Birds are a better team with him lined up with Jackson in one of the league’s deadliest duos at wideout.

But even without Maclin, the Eagles’ offense will prosper.

So there’s no rush. Let Maclin get healthy and get healed, and when he is, the Eagles will get better. But they’re plenty good enough at wide receiver right now, even without Maclin.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Ralph Goldston, one of the first African-Americans to play for the Philadelphia Eagles, has died. He was 82.

Goldston played in 27 games for the Eagles between 1952-55. The team said he died on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.

Goldston was a running back and defensive back. He played 10 seasons in the Canadian Football League after playing for the Eagles, and helped the Hamilton Tiger Cats win the Grey Cup in 1957
and 1963.

He is survived by his wife, Sarah, one son, Ralph Jr., three daughters, Ursula, Beverly and Monique, and five grandchildren.

Ralph Goldston, one of the first African-Americans to play for the Philadelphia Eagles, has died. He was 82.

Goldston played in 27 games for the Eagles between 1952-55. The team said he died on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.

Goldston was a running back and defensive back. He played 10 seasons in theRBRB CFL after playing for the Eagles, and helped the Hamilton Tiger Cats win the Grey Cup in 1957 and 1963. He spent nine seasons with Hamilton, and retired following a season with the Montreal Alouettes in 1965.

He is survived by his wife, Sarah, one son, Ralph Jr., three daughters, Ursula, Beverly and Monique, and five grandchildren.