The Philadelphia Eagles got some good news on Wednesday when head coach Doug Pederson returned to team facilities at NovaCare Complex to get back to work.
Preparing for his fifth season at the helm of the Eagles, Pederson was forced into isolation after announcing earlier in August that he tested positive for COVID-19.
He had to pass the NFL’s coronavirus protocols to get back to work.
But his two-plus-week absence didn’t mean he was completely away from the team.
“I stayed virtually engaged with the team and still ran the team from my home,” he said. “I was chomping [to get back].”
That includes the installment of the entire offense and defense where they’ve since moved on to more situational work.
“Only thing we missed are the live practices,” he added. “We’ve got everything we need in if we were to play a game tomorrow.”
Those live practices are just around the corner as Pederson is ready to get his guys out on the field. While social distancing has been the name of the game for the better part of the last five months, Pederson confirmed on Wednesday that the Eagles will have live hitting at camp once pads go on.
He returns to an Eagles squad that is still expected to be in the running for an NFC East crown in 2020, but there are still plenty of question marks that comes with it.
One of the largest is within the wide-receiving corps., which is already shorthanded after Alshon Jeffery was placed on the PUP list and Marquise Goodwin decided to opt-out of the season citing coronavirus concerns.
While they brought on Jalen Reagor via the draft to support the likes of DeSean Jackson, Pederson is already laying down sizable expectations for Greg Ward — who went from practice-squad to the AAF, to late-season hero for the Eagles last season.
” He’s in the rotation, in the starting mix for us,” Pederson said. “We expect some really big things from Greg.”
