Jordan Matthews has bone bruise, but no structural damage
— -- PHILADELPHIA -- Eagles wide receiver Jordan Matthews has a bone bruise in his left knee, coach Doug Pederson said Tuesday.
That's good news for Matthews and the team. After Matthews was injured during Friday's practice in a collision with rookie cornerback Jalen Mills, Pederson thought the injury was more serious.
"It looked bad on tape when I watched it," Pederson said Tuesday. "It looked worse than what I initially thought out here on the field. Now it's definitely day-to-day. There's no structure damage in there, which is definitely pleasing. On tape, it looks like it could have been."
Matthews and tight end Zach Ertz were injured a few plays apart during Friday's practice. Mills hit Matthews in his knee and Ertz was upended by rookie safety Blake Countess. Ertz was evaluated for a concussion but was cleared by team doctors.
After practice, Ertz said the team needed to emphasize the need to be protective of teammates even while young players were hitting in live drills in their effort to make the team.
Pederson said he would continue to have live drills in practice, something the Eagles did not do under Chip Kelly for the past three seasons. On Monday, however, he announced the team would not have live hitting during the rest of training camp. With preseason games beginning this week, Pederson said, the team would have enough contact.
Matthews will not play in Thursday night's preseason opener. Pederson said Friday that Matthews could miss the first two preseason games.
Veteran Chris Givens will start in Matthews' place, Pederson said.
Matthews, 24, was the Eagles' leading receiver last season. He caught 85 passes for 997 yards.
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