Eagles’ Zach Pascal making up for lost time after missing time with food poisoning

For Zach Pascal, it all went wrong with a chicken quesadilla.

The Eagles wide receiver has an affinity for Mexican food — his favorite restaurant is Chipotle — but the cuisine from an undisclosed restaurant wasn’t his friend a few days before the start of training camp.

Pascal spent the first week of Eagles training camp in and out of the hospital with food poisoning. The 27-year-old said he spent four days in the hospital and lost 16 pounds as a result.

“I wouldn’t wish this on no man,” Pascal said earlier this summer.

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Since returning to practice on Aug. 6, Pascal has hit the ground running in his first year with the Eagles. The former Colts receiver already had some familiarity with Eagles coach Nick Sirianni’s scheme because of their shared time in Indianapolis, and Pascal has made a handful of nice plays.

On Tuesday, Pascal opened up the first team period of practice with a touchdown catch in the red zone. Pascal gained separation on Eagles cornerback Darius Slay and quarterback Jalen Hurts lofted the pass into a space where only Pascal had a chance on the ball. There’s also been a trend of Pascal (6-foot-2, 214 pounds) making plays during red-zone periods.

“The way I came into camp, before the food poison? I feel like I’m not there yet,” Pascal said after Tuesday’s practice. “The fact that I’m getting back and I’m almost back and I’m able to do the things that I want to do [already,] it will just get scarier.”

Pascal’s roster spot was likely never in question; he was a Sirianni favorite during their shared time with the Colts and the Eagles coach was instrumental in luring Pascal over to his side once the receiver became a free agent. Still, the early returns from the wideout suggest he has earned some playing time once the regular season begins.

Pascal said the offense Sirianni has authored as a head coach puts a greater emphasis on route details than the scheme he shared with Colts head coach Frank Reich.

“Not saying that we didn’t focus on details in my other offense, but this is a major, major, major key,” he said. “The splits on where we line up, the depth on the yardage, everything is for the quarterback.”

Pascal had 38 catches for 384 yards and three touchdowns last season with the Colts, but was also billed as a tough slot receiver who could impact the run game with his blocking.

Pascal said he has regained most of the weight he dropped while hospitalized, which should help in that department.

“You hit the weight room, you get your sprints, your conditioning,” Pascal said. “ … It probably took me like two weeks to get my weight back, maybe a week and a half.”

With JJ Arcega-Whiteside traded and Grant Calcaterra sidelined, the Eagles are noticeably light at tight end.

Dallas Goedert is a mainstay on the first team, with Richard Rodgers, Jack Stoll, and Noah Togiai splitting the rest of the reps between all three groups.

Stoll and Rodgers could both find roles as the secondary tight end behind Goedert, but Togiai has also been a bright spot at training camp so far. The former undrafted free agent out of Oregon State started his career with the Eagles in 2020 but was cut after training camp. He signed with the Indianapolis Colts and played in four games before rejoining the Eagles last season.

» READ MORE: Eagles trade JJ Arcega-Whiteside, a former second-round draft pick, to the Seahawks for a defensive back

On Tuesday, Togiai made a handful of catches, including an impressive leaping touchdown reception over Eagles safety Andre Chachere.

Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen said Togiai has impressed the coaching staff during training camp.

“[In] the pass game, he’s gotten really good,” Steichen said. “His routes are looking crisper and obviously in the run game in-line, blocking defensive ends is a tough challenge in this league and it’s all about leverage on those big guys. He’s been doing a nice job.”

Steichen also credited Arcega-Whiteside for his character when asked about the tight end convert. Arcega-Whiteside, a former second-round pick, was traded to the Seattle Seahawks on Monday in exchange for defensive back Ugo Amadi.

“JJ is a great person, had a great work ethic,” he said. “He did some good things here for us, but I’m really excited about his new chapter in Seattle and wish him nothing but the best.”

Eagles safety Marcus Epps popped up on the injury report with a bad back on Tuesday, leaving an already-thin safety group even thinner.

Former fourth-round pick K’Von Wallace worked in with the starting defense alongside veteran safety Anthony Harris for the first series of team play, but Josiah Scott got the first-team reps in the following series.

Scott entered training camp as a slot cornerback but is noticeably being cross-trained at the safety spot.

» READ MORE: Eagles roster projection 3.0: Two cut, three to go by Tuesday

Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said last week that the similarities between the two spots in his scheme make the transition a more natural one for a player like Scott.

“We felt like, ‘Hey, let’s take a look at him ‘cause the nickel position is a mirrored position with the safety in some things,’” Gannon said. “He is doing a good job. [I’m] happy with how he’s responded to that, and we will see where it goes.”

Scott played in 13 games for the Eagles last season mostly as a special-teamer. He was on the field for 11% of the team’s defensive snaps and is battling for a spot in a crowded cornerback room full of young, recently acquired defensive backs.

Scott agreed that the versatility to play multiple spots would help his chances of making the 53-man roster.

“I pride myself in being a smart player and being able to play every position in the secondary,” Scott said. “Being able to play corner, nickel, or safety in this defense, I pride myself on that. So I took it and ran with it, and I’m enjoying it.”

The Eagles cut the following players under a waived/injured designation to trim their roster down to the league-mandated 85 players: WR Lance Lenoir, S Jared Mayden, and CB Jimmy Moreland.