Davis: ‘These things don't go away like magic'

He feels terrific. He’s going full-tilt. He’s thrilled to be back at practice after a month. He lost 20 pounds and is in great shape. He’s filled with joy.

But does all of that mean Jordan Davis is playing Sunday?

That remains to be seen.

Davis remains on Injured Reserve with the high ankle sprain he suffered against the Steelers at the Linc on Oct. 30, but the Eagles opened his practice window this week, and after participating in a walkthrough on Wednesday, he enjoyed his first full practice on Thursday.

At some point, the Eagles will make a decision on whether he can return to action in Sunday's game against the Titans.

But they’re not there yet.

“I feel great just being out there with the guys, not even just from a physical standpoint, but just from a mental standpoint,” Davis said after his first real practice since Oct. 28. “It's just great to be out there enjoying the game that I love with the people I love. It's always, always a joy to me.”

So what now?

The Eagles could sure use Davis, their prize rookie first-round pick defensive tackle for Derrick Henry and the Titans.

But the Eagles are very cautious about bringing players back after injuries, generally preferring to wait an extra week than risk bringing a player back too soon.

“We'll make a decision at some point,” he said. “It's not really up to me, it's a combination of everything. But I'm pushing it, we’re pushing it, we're cranking this thing full-tilt, as far as I can go. I would love to, I would love to, but you know, we have to make a decision that's smart for everybody. 

“So yeah we're pushing along, but Rome wasn’t built in a day, so it's a still day-by-day process (and) you want to be smart about it. These things don't go away like magic.

“But just to be at practice, we hit one of our benchmarks. So (Friday) we have another practice and we're gonna go full tilt so we’ll just see. We gotta be smart with these things.”

Davis did allow that he was hesitant at practice Thursday and even that he felt “tweaks” in his ankle while he was on the field.

“I mean, obviously, I would be very hesitant, but you know, it's one of those things that you kind of have to push through,” he said. “You want to be put in a stressful situation before you get to the stressful situation.

“So we push through, just keep working. It tweaked on me a few times, but you just wait a little bit and it kind of goes away and then we just get back full-tilt. So taking this just a play at a time, just doing what I can a play at a time.”

Davis got hurt late in the second quarter of the Eagles’ 35-13 win over the Steelers during a seven-yard Kenny Pickett pass to Najee Harris.

“When it happened initially, I was kind of bummed out,” he said. “I grew up a Steelers fan and that was one of the games I had circled, but I knew what it was. I know exactly what it was when it happened, because I had one in college.

“You’re dejected because you want to play and you want to be with the team, but it's just a process and I would say I’m lucky I’m here now. We have a great training staff and they helped me even get to this point at this accelerated speed.”

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