Michael Vick, LeSean McCoy Practice for Philadelphia Eagles, But Will Either Play Thursday Night?

By Joe Doris
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

For the first time since suffering concussions in Week 10 and Week 11, respectively, Philadelphia Eagles QB Michael Vick and RB LeSean McCoy were both back at practice Tuesday.

Following the Eagles’ Week 13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, head coach Andy Reid announced that rookie QB Nick Foles would take the reigns under center for the rest of the season even if Vick was able to play again. Now that Vick has been cleared, the pressure is on for Foles to keep Reid to his word.

It will be interesting to see what happens if Foles looks anything like he did in his first two NFL starts (awful), instead of flashing the talents that he did in his past two contests.

After totaling just 323 passing yards with zero touchdowns and two interceptions in his first two starts, Foles couldn’t have looked any different in Week 13 and 14, racking up 632 yards passing with 4 total touchdowns (one rushing) and zero turnovers in those games combined.

It is hard to see any benefit to getting Vick on the field again this year, but if Foles is back to his old ways, embarrassing his team, it is not out of the question.

When it comes to McCoy, if he is available to play on Thursday night against the Cincinnati Bengals, I strongly believe that he will be handling the load for the Eagles. McCoy is guaranteed to remain in Philly for years to come, as opposed to Vick, so he should still be getting all of the touches that he can even though the season is out of reach.

Also, backup Eagles RB Bryce Brown showed incredible promise in his first two professional starts, racking up 347 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns, but absolutely choked last Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ first place rushing defense.

Brown totaled just 6 rushing yards on 12 carries against the Bucs. Yes, you read that right.

And as much as Brown boosted himself into stardom with his first two incredible starts, the rookie dragged himself down further in his last, displaying his ability to completely disappear when facing a stout defense.

Brown’s pathetic performance was also enough to ensure McCoy’s starting status for the rest of the year, as opposed to a possible two-headed attack in the Eagles’ backfield.

In reality, the Eagles have nothing left to play for, so who starts at each position for the rest of the year really means nothing to the team as a whole.

Everybody on the Eagles is just playing for a job at this point, whether it be in Philly again next season, or anywhere else among the NFL’s 32 squads.

 

Please follow Joe on Twitter @Joe_RantNFL for all Eagles/NFL insight.

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