Philadelphia Eagles mandatory minicamp begins this week (more on that tomorrow) and there won't be many new faces in town because most of the team has already been in attendance during Organized Team Activities. The only exception was rookie safety Ed Reynolds. Reynolds, who is still finishing up a degree at Stanford, wasn't able to attend Eagles voluntary OTAs due to an NCAA restriction. Reynolds himself indicated that he will be in Philly this week for minicamp, however.
Feels good to be back in Philly and hit the field a lil bit
— Ed Reynolds (@ed_reynolds29) June 12, 2014
This situation is similar to the one that second year Eagles tight end, Zach Ertz, faced last year during his rookie season. Ertz also went to Stanford and missed OTAs. After the season ended, Ertz admitted he felt at a disadvantage by missing time with the team in the offseason. He felt he started off slow but finished strong. In Reynolds' case, the pressure to perform probably won't put him in the same position as Ertz. Ertz, a second round pick, was expected to be a strong contributor off the bench. In Reynolds' rookie season, he's likely battling for a backup safety job and mainly playing special teams.
Reynolds has been in touch with the Eagles coaching staff since leaving rookie minicamp in early May. Via Bob Grotz.
"I left here with the full playbook," Reynolds said. "I can watch all the meetings. I can go through all the installs. I had time where I face-timed Coach Lovett, my defensive backs coach, and the special teams coach (Dave Fipp) once or twice a week just to go over it if I had any questions about anything. But it’s completely different once you step out there on the field and everything is moving a lot faster and you’re going through the slides."
While the Eagles have been able to make the most of an unideal circumstance so far, there's just no replicating on-field repetitions. Fortunately for Reynolds and the Eagles, the wait is almost over.