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The Philadelphia Eagles announced some roster news prior to the start of their first training camp practice today. Jalen Mills has officially been placed on the active/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.
What’s the PUP?
Being on the PUP list means these players will not be able to practice until the team deems them healthy enough to participate. The Eagles can take them off the active/PUP list at any time. However, players will no longer be eligible for the reserve/PUP list (AKA the regular season PUP list) once they participate in practice.
A player on reserve/PUP is required miss the first six games of the regular season. That’s obviously not ideal but the Eagles are keeping the option open in case it comes to that. Players on the active/PUP list do still count against the Eagles’ 90-man roster. Those players will NOT count towards the 53-man roster while they are on the reserve/PUP list.
Jalen Mills
The Mills injury thing is bizarre. He first suffered a “foot sprain“ during the Eagles’ Week 8 game against the Jaguars last season. There seemed to be some optimism he could return later in 2018 but then he was suddenly spotted wearing a walking boot and placed on injured reserve. Unlike a number of his teammates, Mills didn’t do any on-field rehab work during spring drills. There’s some talk he could be back by the end of camp. Mills could feel pressured to get back on the field sooner rather than later since he’s entering a contract year.
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Notably not on PUP
Brandon Brooks
The Eagles’ starting right guard suffered an Achilles injury during the Eagles’ playoff loss to the Saints. Jason Kelce told reporters he thinks Brooks will be back “if not for Game 1 then very early on.” In addition, Howard Eskin said he was told there is “no question” that Brooks will be ready for the start of the season. The fact that Brooks is not on active/PUP is a great sign for him.
Ronald Darby
It was previously reported that Darby was expected to begin training camp on the active/PUP list but Ian Rapoport was wrong for the second year in a row. Darby will NOT begin training on active/PUP, which bodes well for his chances of playing in Week 1. Darby tore his ACL in November 2018 but he was seen warming up with his teammates and doing some light work during spring practices.