Eagles DT Fletcher Cox’s toe injury is related to offseason foot surgery, but he’ll play against Falcons

Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox was a limited participant in practice until Friday because of a toe injury on the foot that kept him out of a large chunk of offseason practices and training camp.

The All-Pro lineman suffered a right-foot injury against the New Orleans Saints in last January’s playoff loss, and needed surgery in the offseason to repair the damage.

The recovery time from that surgery put Cox’s status for Week 1 in question during the preseason, but he was a full-go against Washington last week and was a full participant in practice leading into the game.

But Cox’s name popped up again on the injury report earlier this week, this time with a toe injury. Before Cox was a full participant in Friday’s practice, Eagles coach Doug Pederson said the injury is related to Cox’s healing foot, but downplayed the severity of his condition.

“It’s related to that,” Pederson said. “Nothing serious, nothing more than that.”

Cox, 29, posted a career-high 10.5 sacks last season en route to an All-Pro selection.

Falcons coach Dan Quinn explained the difficulty of game-planning for a player such as Cox earlier this week.

“Fletcher’s been a guy, man, we’ve really admired his style and attitude and how he plays,” Quinn said on a teleconference Wednesday. “Inside, when you have a guy who has the kind of quickness that he does, that’s when it becomes difficult matchups, whether it’s against a center or a guard. And then when you combine that with the power [he has], that’s what gives him uniqueness.”

Eagles linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill and offensive tackle Jordan Mailata were ruled out of Sunday’s game in Friday’s injury report.

Grugier-Hill is coming back from an MCL sprain suffered during training camp. He’s yet to return to practice with the team.

Mailata is “week-to-week” with a back injury suffered before the team’s final preseason game. He was enjoying a solid preseason in which he got the lion’s share of reps with the first-team offense while Lane Johnson rested a knee injury during training camp.

Nate Sudfeld is listed as “doubtful” for the game, but that’s a step in the right direction for the quarterback as he recovers from a broken wrist. He left the first half of the preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans with the injury, leading to the team’s signing Josh McCown to back up Carson Wentz. Once Sudfeld returns in earnest, it will be interesting to see who assumes the No. 2 role, behind Wentz.

Pederson said McCown is still the No. 2 against the Falcons, regardless of whether Sudfeld is healthy enough to go.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to that point,” Pederson said of the competition for the No. 2 spot.

Falcons return specialist Kenjon Barner’s opportunity to get revenge on his former team might be in jeopardy.

Barner was limited in Thursday’s practice with an ankle injury, according to the team’s injury report.

Barner spent four seasons with the Eagles from 2013-17. He was with the Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots last season before signing with the Falcons in the offseason.