Fletcher Cox returns while 10 other players miss Eagles practice

Last week, the Philadelphia Eagles had four players missing from the team’s first voluntary OTA practice: Fletcher Cox, Jason Peters, Donnie Jones, and Marcus Smith. As expected, one of those players returned to the field today: Cox.

The Eagles’ $100 million defensive tackle explained his absence after practice on Tuesday.

More from Cox via the Bleeding Green Nation Facebook page (click here or watch below).

So there you have it. Cox is back and now everyone can move forward.

But while Cox returned to practice on Tuesday, a considerable number of other Eagles players were missing. Here’s a complete list of Tuesday’s absences:

OT Jason Peters - Unclear (Age?)

P Donnie Jones - Unclear (Age?)

DE Marcus Smith - Unclear (Trying to force his way off the team?)

WR Jordan Matthews - Knee tendinitis (Eagles claim they’re taking a “conservative approach” with him)

RB LeGarrette Blount - Family reasons (Wedding)

RB Darren Sproles - Family reasons

DT Timmy Jernigan - Family reasons (Birth of child)

DE Vinny Curry - Sick

CB Ron Brooks - Personal

DE Alex McCalister - Personal

The feeling here is some guys might have wanted to take an extra long weekend coming off of Memorial Day.

In any case, it’s far from the biggest deal that players are missing voluntary practices in May. Still, 10 players is a lot. And this absentee list doesn’t include the two rookies (Sidney Jones, Elijah Qualls) who aren’t allowed to attend practice due to the NCAA’s graduation rule. Or the injured players who aren’t participating in team drills, such as Mychal Kendricks, Allen Barbre, and Joe Walker. Add that all up and it’s 15 players out of the 90 man roster who weren’t practicing on Tuesday (nearly 17% of the team).

Hopefully the Eagles will have better attendance moving forward.