Eagles’ Nelson Agholor says he first injured his knee vs. the Vikings, is working hard to get back
The wide receiver said he doesn't know his status for this week's game at Washington.
Beleaguered Eagles wide receiver Nelson Agholor said Wednesday that his knee injury dates to the Oct. 13 loss at Minnesota, and it worsened when he banged his right kneecap on the end-zone turf while missing a Carson Wentz pass in the Nov. 17 New England loss.
Agholor missed the Nov. 24 Seattle game, played at Miami, then sat out amid a wideout health crisis Monday night against the Giants. He declined to make a prediction about his status for this Sunday’s game at Washington. The team did not practice Wednesday but issued an injury report based on what medical personnel thought would have been players’ statuses. Agholor was listed as a nonparticipant.
“I’m going to try to keep on getting better, every day. I’ve been dealing with the knee for a long time now,” Agholor said, his right leg wrapped in a pressure sleeve. “I’ve played through it. I’ve been trying to get myself as healthy as possible each week to play each week and play through it, the discomfort. I had the week off vs. Seattle, came back vs. Miami, played through it, experienced a little bit of discomfort. ... Now we’re just trying to take care of it.”
Agholor said the knee swelled up after he fell on it in the Vikings game. He has 39 catches for 363 yards and three touchdowns, in the final year of his rookie contract. Observers don’t expect the Eagles to retain him. He said his contract status isn’t relevant to his situation.
Agholor said his range of motion is affected. He said the knee is getting better, but he also said: “I’m in a position right now where it’s kind of at a stalemate point.”
Asked how the team’s dire wide-receiver situation affects him, Agholor said: “I’m trying to fix it, to be the best I can be for the guys."
He said the Monday night performance of reserves J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Josh Perkins, and Greg Ward was “amazing.”
“I told them I just loved their fight,” he said.
Agholor said he hopes he will not need postseason surgery.
Kamu cleared, apparently
The Eagles’ injury report listed linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill as a full participant in Wednesday’s practice. The team actually held a walkthrough, in deference to the short prep week, but the report was an estimation of what would have happened had the Eagles actually practiced, so presumably, Grugier-Hill has been cleared from the league concussion protocol.
Jake who?
Eagles kicker Jake Elliott laughed off defensive end Brandon Graham’s inability to remember Elliott’s name after Monday’s game.
Graham, going through events of the final quarter and overtime, said the team could have sagged after “what’s-his-name" missed a 47-yard field goal, between two Eagles touchdown drives late in regulation.
“I think me and Brandon are -- I don’t fault him for that at all,” said Elliott, who has been Graham’s teammate since 2017. “I think that’s just a caught-up-in-the-moment type of deal.”
Elliott hit his first 16 field-goal attempts this season, but he missed for the first time in the Miami loss, from 49 yards, and Monday night his attempt from 47 flew just outside the left upright.
“I’m hitting the ball well. I hit that one right where I wanted to," Elliott said. "The wind was strong, left-to-right on that [south] side, so I was kind of playing that left upright. [The ball] just really didn’t move a whole lot, unfortunately. I wish I could give you a better answer. It’s frustrating. ... I’m not disappointed with the way I’m hitting the ball.”