On Wednesday, kicker Jake Elliott practiced for the Philadelphia Eagles, as he took his normal reps kicking field goals. He suffered a concussion last Sunday in the Eagles' win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Elliott's participation in practice does not mean that he has been cleared to play this Sunday against the Chicago Bears, as his activity in practice was allowed under the NFL's concussion protocol. Certainly though, his participation is a good sign that he'll be ready to play on Sunday, especially since he made all of his kicks (that I saw, anyway) from distances ranging from 32 to around 50 yards.
Wednesday morning, Doug Pederson did some soul searching, and guessed on Elliott's availability for Sunday.
"I don't want to speculate on a bunch of things," he said, "and say this, that, and the other, because a lot of it is speculation, but I'll put it this way -- I believe and feel in the bottom of my heart that Jake will be ready.
Doug's heart never lies.
If Elliott is ready to play on Sunday, the Eagles will not be forced to either activate Caleb Sturgis from injured reserve or sign another kicker off the street, thus making it necessary to cut a player from their 53-man roster.
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