Eagles center Dallas Reynolds (ankle) was able to practice on Friday and is now listed as questionable for Sunday night's game against the Cowboys, which means there’s a 50 percent chance he’ll play.
Reynolds, who was injured in Sunday's 30-22 loss to Carolina, didn’t practice on Wednesday or Thursday, and the Eagles prepared for Dallas without him after doing some lineup shuffling. They moved left guard Evan Mathis to Reynold’s spot and shifted Danny Watkins into Mathis’ spot. Watkins had been the starting right guard until he was sidelined with a chronic ankle problem, and now that he’s healthy he appears to have lost his starting job to veteran Jake Scott.
Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg wasn’t surprised to see Reynolds back on his feet and back in the lineup.
“He’s a tough young man, Dallas Reynolds,’’ Mornhinweg said. “That thing was a pretty good injury, and he finished the game and gutted it out. That’s how our players are reacting to this thing. We have a lot of players just gutting it out, and Dallas is certainly one of them.”
Rookie Nick Foles will start his third game against the Cowboys and the center situation should have more of an impact on him than anybody, but Foles downplayed the uncertainty.
“It doesn’t affect me,’’ he said. “I feel confident. Dallas has done an amazing job, but if Evan is in there, or whoever, I feel like they’re going to do a great job. I have all the confidence in the world in them, and I know they’ll get the job done.”
McNutt ready to answer the call: Wide receiver Marvin McNutt received a phone call from his agent on Friday morning, and for a rookie on an NFL practice squad that could only mean two things -- good news or bad news.
It was good news. His agent told him the Eagles were signing him to the active roster.
“He told me, ‘Congrats,’’’ McNutt said. “And I was like, ‘For what?’ He was like, ‘They pulled you up. They’re sending over a contract.’’’
McNutt knew there was a chance he would be promoted because the Eagles had two open spots on their 53-man roster, and one of them was created when wide receiver DeSean Jackson was put on injured reserve with broken ribs.
On the other hand, McNutt also knew the Eagles had just released defensive end Jason Babin and everything about the Eagles is uncertain as they finish up a terrible season.
“Really, you just have to play it by ear and just keep continuing to practice and try and not think about it too much,’’ he said. “I didn’t want to get my hopes up for something that may not or may end up happening. I was just waiting for the time when the coaches told me.”
McNutt was a sixth-round draft pick out of Iowa, and he had a good preseason, so there was speculation he would press Riley Cooper for the job as the No. 4 receiver; the two players are similar in size, around 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds. Instead, McNutt was released and then signed to the practice squad.
Now he might get a chance to wear his uniform in something more than just practice.
“These are the chances you get if you keep working and if you never quit on your dream,” he said.
Vick feels good, understands policy: Quarterback Michael Vick hasn’t practiced or played in more than three weeks while recovering from a concussion, and he’ll miss his third straight game on Sunday. Head athletics trainier Rick Buckholder said on Friday that Vick has reached a plateau in his recovery, and Vick later released a statement through the Eagles’ public relations department to say that he feels strong but understands that he has to be patient.
“I want to thank my fans for the thousands of well wishes,’’ Vick said in the statement. “I also appreciate the support of the entire Eagles organization. I feel strong and healthy. As a professional athlete, I want to play in every game, but the NFL has a specific protocol to protect players. My focus is to complete this process successfully so I can rejoin my team on the field.”
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Philadelphia Eagles from blogger Kevin Noonan, follow @CBSEagles.