Eagles’ Haason Reddick expects to be ready for the season opener at New England following thumb surgery

When the Eagles head to Foxborough for their season opener against the New England Patriots on Sept. 10, linebacker Haason Reddick said he expects to be able to play.

Reddick, 28, said after practice Monday that he’s “progressing really well” after undergoing surgery to repair a ligament in his right thumb. The veteran edge rusher suffered the injury during the first joint practice with the Cleveland Browns on Aug. 14, and the Eagles announced that he would have surgery three days later. Reddick participated in some individual drills at Monday’s practice during the early portion open to media as he works his way back.

When practice resumes later this week following Tuesday’s roster cutdown deadline, Reddick anticipates that he will be able to start taking live reps at some point.

“I’m just glad that it wasn’t something serious and that I’ll be able to still go out there at whatever capacity,” Reddick said. “For me, I’m just taking it one day at a time. I ain’t down about it, not sad about it. What happened, happened. Like I said, I’m going to adapt, move forward, and go out there and still try to put my best ball on tape.”

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Part of the process of adapting will be determining the type of protective apparatus he will wear over his thumb. Reddick said he was surprised to learn how common his injury has been among his teammates, allowing him to discuss the protective gear that worked for them at the time. Those players include left guard Landon Dickerson and wide receiver A.J. Brown.

Reddick will have roughly two weeks to experiment with different protective gear before the start of the season, which will be his seventh in the league and his second with the Eagles. The Camden native and Temple alumnus led the team last season with 16 sacks (second in the NFL) and racked up 11 tackles for losses, five forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries, earning him his first career Pro Bowl selection and second-team All-Pro honors.

“For me, everything is about using my hands,” Reddick said. “That’s why I said we’re looking for the best option to make sure that I’m able to go out there and adapt to what happened and go out there and be able to perform at my best.”

Thanks to the thumb injury and groin soreness, Reddick saw limited action during training camp. He dealt with groin soreness at the start of camp, keeping him sidelined until July 30, when he started to practice in a limited capacity before ramping up to full capacity in the second week of August.

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Reddick, like most of the other starters, did not participate in any of the preseason games. Despite the various injuries that limited his ability to take part in training camp, Reddick said that he feels like he’s in good shape.

“I’ve been running around since I came back from the surgery,” Reddick said. “I do feel like I’m in shape, physically conditioned. It’s just going to be about adapting now.”

While he isn’t concerned about his conditioning, Reddick said that he has missed being able to take actual, physical reps in practice. However, he has placed an emphasis on taking mental reps, observing his teammates’ actions and listening to the feedback they’re receiving from the coaches.

“Learning through other people’s reps right now, which hasn’t been bad,” Reddick said. “I’ve been seeing some things, able to take notes on some things, and things that I could do better or add to my game and things like that.”