Doug Pederson had an odd response to questions about Jordan Matthews

The Jordan Matthews injury situation is still perplexing. I thought there would be some clarity by the Eagles time training camp rolled around, but it turns out that’s not the case.

Prior to the start of camp on Monday, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson told the team’s official website on Sunday evening that Matthews will be limited in training camp.

[...] wide receiver Jordan Matthews could be limited just a bit with the number of reps he takes after missing time in the spring with a knee injury.

This news was a little surprising because Pederson previously said Matthews would be “fine heading into training camp.”

It’s also surprising because Matthews missed the entirety of Philadelphia’s OTA and minicamp practices save for the first day in May. At the time, Eagles PR people told reporters Matthews was missing practice due to “knee tendinitis.”

Curiously, Matthews was listed on the injury report during the 2016 season with that same issue. It seems like the injury originated when Jalen Mills hit Matthews low in training camp practice last August, which caused the wide receiver to miss the entirety of the 2016 preseason. And now he’s still dealing with it one whole year later.

But despite the fact knee tendinitis was previously listed as the reason for Matthews’ absence, Pederson wouldn’t say as much when asked about him after practice on Monday.

Q. The fact that WR Jordan Matthews is still going to be limited, is this lingering longer than you expected? Is there a concern about stretching through the season?

DOUG PEDERSON: I'm not concerned. I know Jordan's work ethic. I know the type of person and player that he is. You know, we've just got to stay on top of it. Obviously, he's been rehabbing all spring, all summer. He's been up here. He was in North Dakota with the guys. Just, again, another one we'll just monitor as we go. Again, we don't really play a game for a long time, so I'm not concerned.

Q. What is wrong with his knee?

DOUG PEDERSON: Nothing. Just rehabbing it and keeping it healthy.

Q. So you're holding him out of practice?

DOUG PEDERSON: I'm not holding him out. He didn't practice. He didn't practice. That's right.

Q. There's got to be more than something wrong with his knee than nothing if you said he is not practicing?

DOUG PEDERSON: You can ask [Eagles director of sports medicine/head athletic trainer Chris] Peduzzi. You can ask our doctors. I'm not a medical guy, so you can ask those questions to them.

BGN Radio’s John Barchard requested to talk to Peduzzi but was denied. So Pederson is really the only source of information here (other than Matthews himself) and he’s saying JMatt is fine. Except JMatt isn’t fine because he has knee tendinitis. And he’s going to be limited in practice whenever he does finally participate.

I know some fans don’t want to hear it, but one can only wonder if Matthews’ absence is related to the trade rumors he’s been mentioned in this offseason. There is a reasonable case for why the Eagles should trade Matthews, so it’s not totally unrealistic.

Maybe the Eagles don’t intend on trading Matthews. Whatever the case is, the fact is the team’s starting slot receiver still isn’t 100%. One can only wonder when he will be fully healthy given how long this injury has lingered now.

Check video from Doug Pederson’s post-practice press conference (click here or watch below).